StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Sunday. The firm issued a buy rating on the pipeline company's stock.

Martin Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of Martin Midstream Partners stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.99. 9,712 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 101,638. Martin Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $2.56 and a 1-year high of $4.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.18 million, a PE ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.70.

Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). Martin Midstream Partners had a negative return on equity of 6.93% and a negative net margin of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $192.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Martin Midstream Partners will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.005 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Martin Midstream Partners's payout ratio is -8.33%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,000. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 713,930 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 140,196 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,894 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $824,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.90% of the company's stock.

About Martin Midstream Partners

Martin Midstream Partners L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides terminalling, processing, storage, and packaging services for petroleum products and by-products primarily in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Terminalling and Storage, Transportation, Sulfur Services, and Specialty Products.