North European Oil Royality Trust (NYSE:NRT) Short Interest Down 20.1% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 20.1% in April to 30,521 shares (about 0.3% of shares) with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.3, indicating low short exposure and quick cover time.
• The trust pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 (annualized $0.88) for a 10.6% yield, but the payout ratio is high at 88.89%, suggesting limited cushion for distributions.
• Insider Richard Page Howard sold 25,000 shares (a 9.09% cut to his position) and analysts currently assign an average rating of Hold.

North European Oil Royality Trust (NYSE:NRT - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 30,521 shares, a drop of 20.1% from the March 31st total of 38,183 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 91,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded North European Oil Royality Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of North European Oil Royality Trust in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Richard Page Howard sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.62, for a total value of $215,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 250,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,155,000. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of North European Oil Royality Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in North European Oil Royality Trust by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 49,500 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of North European Oil Royality Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $235,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of North European Oil Royality Trust by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,503 shares of the energy company's stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 3,060 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of North European Oil Royality Trust by 210.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,500 shares of the energy company's stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of North European Oil Royality Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $134,000. Institutional investors own 6.97% of the company's stock.

North European Oil Royality Trust Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE:NRT traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.28. The stock had a trading volume of 60,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,293. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.62. North European Oil Royality Trust has a 52 week low of $4.36 and a 52 week high of $10.49.

North European Oil Royality Trust (NYSE:NRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The energy company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.21 million for the quarter. North European Oil Royality Trust had a net margin of 92.51% and a return on equity of 516.79%.

North European Oil Royality Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. North European Oil Royality Trust's payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

About North European Oil Royality Trust

North European Oil Royalty Trust NYSE: NRT is a statutory trust that holds an overriding royalty interest in a diversified portfolio of oil and natural gas properties located in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea. The trust's sole business is to receive royalty revenues from production activities on its underlying fields and distribute those revenues directly to unitholders. It does not engage in exploration, drilling or field operations.

Under the terms of its governing agreement, the trust is entitled to a fixed percentage of net production revenues, after the deduction of operating and administrative expenses, from a series of established oil and gas fields in the North Sea region.

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