Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

ARLP has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alliance Resource Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alliance Resource Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Alliance Resource Partners Stock Up 0.2%

Alliance Resource Partners stock opened at $24.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.23. Alliance Resource Partners has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $29.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.28). Alliance Resource Partners had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.87%. The company had revenue of $516.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $518.24 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliance Resource Partners will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliance Resource Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. Alliance Resource Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliance Resource Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCS Wealth Management boosted its stake in Alliance Resource Partners by 102.8% during the 4th quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 52,220 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 26,473 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 668,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $15,518,000 after buying an additional 289,900 shares during the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 105.4% in the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 39,999 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 20,522 shares in the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Alliance Resource Partners by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 297,070 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,901,000 after acquiring an additional 83,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alliance Resource Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.11% of the company’s stock.

Alliance Resource Partners Company Profile

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma–based master limited partnership engaged in the production, marketing and transportation of bituminous coal. Through its subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates surface and underground coal mines, providing fuel primarily for electric power generation and various industrial applications. Alliance’s integrated business model covers the extraction of raw coal, processing at preparation plants and delivery to domestic and export customers.

The partnership operates multiple mining complexes across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.