Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) Short Interest Down 51.4% in April

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, a drop of 51.4% from the March 31st total of 2,800,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 462,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Alliance Resource Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Alliance Resource Partners in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at Alliance Resource Partners

In related news, SVP Timothy J. Whelan sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.13, for a total transaction of $1,256,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 93,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,450.50. This trade represents a 34.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARLP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,815,453 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $47,728,000 after acquiring an additional 44,636 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Alliance Resource Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $495,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,564,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alliance Resource Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Alliance Resource Partners by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 80,841 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 9,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 18.11% of the company's stock.

Alliance Resource Partners Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARLP traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.45. 447,981 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,474. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.62. Alliance Resource Partners has a twelve month low of $21.84 and a twelve month high of $30.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.55.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The energy company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.03). Alliance Resource Partners had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $540.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.31 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alliance Resource Partners will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliance Resource Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.59%. Alliance Resource Partners's payout ratio is currently 132.08%.

Alliance Resource Partners Company Profile

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., a diversified natural resource company, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Illinois Basin Coal Operations, Appalachia Coal Operations, Oil & Gas Royalties, and Coal Royalties.