Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Separately, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alliance Resource Partners in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

Alliance Resource Partners Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARLP traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 354,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,385. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Alliance Resource Partners has a 52 week low of $21.84 and a 52 week high of $30.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alliance Resource Partners news, SVP Timothy J. Whelan sold 50,000 shares of Alliance Resource Partners stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 93,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,358,450.50. The trade was a 34.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 16.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Alliance Resource Partners by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 34,283 shares of the energy company's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Alliance Resource Partners by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 17,647 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,816 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 19,971 shares of the energy company's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its position in Alliance Resource Partners by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 7,278 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. 18.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alliance Resource Partners

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.