Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 116.6% in September

Key Points

• Short interest more than doubled in September, rising 116.6% to 25,987 shares, equal to 0.5% of outstanding shares and 0.7 days of average trading volume.
• Cross Timbers Royalty Trust reported quarterly EPS of $0.14 and announced a reduced monthly dividend of $0.0643, implying an annualized yield of 6.4% and a payout ratio of 145.28%.
• The stock received a consensus “Hold” rating, while insider ownership increased after major shareholder Eric L. Oliver bought 16,360 shares; insiders have acquired 88,272 shares over the past three months.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 25,987 shares, a growth of 116.6% from the September 15th total of 11,996 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 38,369 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company's shares are sold short.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CRT opened at $12.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.57 million, a PE ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 0.01. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a 1-year low of $7.07 and a 1-year high of $13.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.54.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust had a return on equity of 147.68% and a net margin of 74.04%.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.0643 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. This is a drop from Cross Timbers Royalty Trust's previous monthly dividend of $0.0679. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust's payout ratio is 145.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust in a report on Monday, September 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Eric L. Oliver acquired 16,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.46 per share, for a total transaction of $187,485.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,005,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,527,304.58. This represents a 1.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 88,272 shares of company stock valued at $949,455. 9.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

An institutional investor recently bought a new stake in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust stock. Welch Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,852 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $157,000. Welch Group LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing. 9.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Company Profile

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust NYSE: CRT is a grantor trust that owns royalty and net profits interests in certain oil and natural gas properties. The trust does not operate wells or provide exploration, drilling, or production services directly. Instead, it receives distributions based on production and sales from the underlying properties, after applicable production expenses and other deductions.

The trust's interests are associated primarily with oil and natural gas properties in Texas and Oklahoma.

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