Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.70 and last traded at $29.10, with a volume of 386106 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARLP shares. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Alliance Resource Partners from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alliance Resource Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Singular Research downgraded shares of Alliance Resource Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd.

Alliance Resource Partners Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.40.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The energy company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.16). Alliance Resource Partners had a return on equity of 23.74% and a net margin of 18.52%. The business had revenue of $613.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliance Resource Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.21%. Alliance Resource Partners’s payout ratio is 79.55%.

Insider Activity at Alliance Resource Partners

In related news, SVP Timothy J. Whelan sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 157,946 shares in the company, valued at $4,422,488. This represents a 5.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 16.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliance Resource Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its position in Alliance Resource Partners by 3.4% in the third quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,904,181 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $72,605,000 after buying an additional 96,780 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,144,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,145,145 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,629,000 after purchasing an additional 66,761 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 208,793 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,220,000 after purchasing an additional 28,016 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 93,462 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.