USA Compression Partners, LP (NYSE:USAC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in USA Compression Partners increased dramatically by 1,368.8% in July, reaching 3,230,000 shares, compared to just 219,900 in June, resulting in a days-to-cover ratio of 13.6 days.
• Insider activity included a significant purchase by Director Bradford D. Whitehurst, who acquired 10,000 shares at $23.50 each, representing a 73.44% increase in his ownership stake.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share with a yield of 9.1%, while its dividend payout ratio is notably high at 308.82%.

USA Compression Partners, LP (NYSE:USAC - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,230,000 shares, anincreaseof1,368.8% from the June 30th total of 219,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 236,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.6 days. Currently,4.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently,4.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 236,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.6 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bradford D. Whitehurst acquired 10,000 shares of USA Compression Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.50 per share, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,616 shares in the company, valued at $554,976. The trade was a 73.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On USA Compression Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in USA Compression Partners by 18.5% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 15,990,511 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $431,424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490,895 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of USA Compression Partners by 82.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,863,377 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $77,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,339 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in USA Compression Partners by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,651,264 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $125,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,556 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in USA Compression Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,905,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in USA Compression Partners by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,274,451 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $289,186,000 after purchasing an additional 107,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of USA Compression Partners in a research report on Monday, June 23rd.

USA Compression Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USAC traded up $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.90. The stock had a trading volume of 153,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,198. USA Compression Partners has a fifty-two week low of $21.12 and a fifty-two week high of $30.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.45. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14 and a beta of 0.36.

USA Compression Partners (NYSE:USAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $250.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.99 million. USA Compression Partners had a negative return on equity of 81.01% and a net margin of 9.99%. Analysts forecast that USA Compression Partners will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

USA Compression Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 28th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. USA Compression Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 308.82%.

About USA Compression Partners

USA Compression Partners, LP provides compression services under term contracts with customers in the natural gas and crude oil industries in the United States. The company engineers, designs, operates, services, and repairs its compression units; and maintains related support inventory and equipment.