NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) in a research note released on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NS. Raymond James reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of NuStar Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an underweight rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of NuStar Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised NuStar Energy from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a hold rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of NuStar Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NuStar Energy has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $19.43.

NuStar Energy Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:NS opened at $20.59 on Friday. NuStar Energy has a twelve month low of $14.70 and a twelve month high of $24.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.12. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 1.70.

NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. NuStar Energy had a return on equity of 107.61% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $451.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that NuStar Energy will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NuStar Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. NuStar Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 225.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NuStar Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NuStar Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NuStar Energy during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of NuStar Energy by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,002 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NuStar Energy by 234.0% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NuStar Energy by 1,610.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 2,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.13% of the company’s stock.

About NuStar Energy

NuStar Energy L.P. engages in the transportation, terminalling, and storage of petroleum products and renewable fuels, and transportation of anhydrous ammonia in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Pipeline, Storage, and Fuels Marketing. The Pipeline segment engages in the transportation of refined products, crude oil, and anhydrous ammonia.