Shares of Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) shot up 8.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $5.86 and last traded at $5.85, 392,348 shares were traded during mid-day trading. An increase of 56% from the average session volume of 250,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.41.
A number of research firms have commented on MMLP. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Ames National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Hallmark Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Trinity Industries from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Zynerba Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Martin Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.
The firm has a market cap of $227.35 million, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $6.77.
Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The pipeline company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $187.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.97 million. Martin Midstream Partners had a negative net margin of 18.38% and a negative return on equity of 15.28%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Martin Midstream Partners L.P. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.09%. Martin Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -526.32%.
In other news, CFO Robert D. Bondurant purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.67 per share, with a total value of $66,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 78,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,933.67. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Chris H. Booth purchased 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.75 per share, with a total value of $64,125.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 25,803 shares in the company, valued at $174,170.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 45,563 shares of company stock valued at $309,534. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,935 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 5,716 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,162 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 8,408 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $109,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 686,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,547,000 after buying an additional 12,740 shares during the period. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $189,000. 27.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP)
Martin Midstream Partners L.P. collects, transports, stores, and markets petroleum products and by-products in the United States Gulf Coast region. The company’s Terminalling and Storage segment owns or operates 19 marine shore-based terminal facilities and 14 specialty terminal facilities that provide storage, refining, blending, packaging, and handling services for producers and suppliers of petroleum products and by-products.
