Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) Earns "Buy" Rating from Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark has upgraded the price target for Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) from $14.00 to $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.57% based on the current stock price.
• While Benchmark maintains a "buy" rating, Wall Street Zen has downgraded METC shares from "hold" to "sell," illustrating mixed views among analysts.
• In its latest earnings report, Ramaco Resources reported a loss of $0.29 per share, missing analyst expectations, while revenues were down 1.5% year-over-year at $152.96 million.

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Benchmark currently has a $24.00 price target on the energy company's stock, up from their previous price target of $14.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on METC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $15.00) on shares of Ramaco Resources in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ramaco Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Ramaco Resources from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Ramaco Resources Stock Performance

METC stock traded up $0.88 on Tuesday, hitting $22.55. The company had a trading volume of 4,771,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,363,225. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $15.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.11 and a beta of 1.35. Ramaco Resources has a 12-month low of $6.30 and a 12-month high of $24.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $152.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $131.55 million. Ramaco Resources had a negative return on equity of 5.55% and a negative net margin of 3.17%. The company's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ramaco Resources will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ramaco Resources Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.0688 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ramaco Resources's payout ratio is currently -62.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ramaco Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in METC. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Ramaco Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Ramaco Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Ramaco Resources by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,332 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ramaco Resources by 384.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,920 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,110 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ramaco Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. 74.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ramaco Resources Company Profile

Ramaco Resources, Inc engages in the development, operation, and sale of metallurgical coal. Its development portfolio includes the Elk Creek project that covers an area of approximately 20,200 acres located in southern West Virginia; the Berwind property covering an area of approximately 62,500 acres situated on the border of West Virginia and Virginia; the Knox Creek property, which covers an area of approximately 64,050 acres is located in Virginia; the Maben property covering an area of approximately 28,000 acres situated in southwestern Pennsylvania southern West Virginia; and the Brook Mine property that covers an area of approximately 16,000 acres located in northeastern Wyoming.