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

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $29.70 and last traded at $29.10, with a volume of 386106 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Alliance Resource Partners Stock Up 9.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

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

Alliance Resource Partners Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alliance Resource Partners

In other Alliance Resource Partners news, SVP Timothy J. Whelan sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 157,946 shares in the company, valued at $4,422,488. The trade was a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 16.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliance Resource Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARLP. Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,904,181 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $72,605,000 after acquiring an additional 96,780 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliance Resource Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,144,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,145,145 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,629,000 after acquiring an additional 66,761 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 208,793 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,220,000 after acquiring an additional 28,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 93,462 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the last quarter. 18.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliance Resource Partners Company Profile

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.