Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Separately, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Alliance Resource Partners from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Alliance Resource Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARLP traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $25.52. The stock had a trading volume of 324,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,585. Alliance Resource Partners has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $27.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.14.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The energy company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $613.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.17 million. Alliance Resource Partners had a net margin of 18.52% and a return on equity of 23.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alliance Resource Partners will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliance Resource Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.97%. Alliance Resource Partners’s payout ratio is presently 79.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliance Resource Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliance Resource Partners during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 135.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Cove Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliance Resource Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Alliance Resource Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Alliance Resource Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors 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.