Alliance Resource Partners’ (ARLP) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $29.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alliance Resource Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th.

Alliance Resource Partners Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:ARLP opened at $26.40 on Tuesday. Alliance Resource Partners has a 1 year low of $21.84 and a 1 year high of $30.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.62.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The energy company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $540.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.31 million. Alliance Resource Partners had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 19.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliance Resource Partners will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliance Resource Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Alliance Resource Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alliance Resource Partners

In related news, SVP Timothy J. Whelan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.13, for a total transaction of $1,256,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 93,850 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,450.50. This trade represents a 34.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliance Resource Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its position in Alliance Resource Partners by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,942,211 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $77,351,000 after purchasing an additional 38,030 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,815,453 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $47,728,000 after buying an additional 44,636 shares during the period. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alliance Resource Partners by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,151,070 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $30,262,000 after buying an additional 5,925 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alliance Resource Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,564,000. Finally, Huntleigh Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alliance Resource Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $14,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.11% of the company’s stock.

About Alliance Resource Partners

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., a diversified natural resource company, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Illinois Basin Coal Operations, Appalachia Coal Operations, Oil & Gas Royalties, and Coal Royalties.