Black Stone Minerals (NYSE:BSM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Black Stone Minerals, L.P. (NYSE:BSM) saw strong trading volume on Monday. 1,394,949 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 246% from the average daily volume of 403,687 shares. The stock last traded at $13.7840 and had previously closed at $13.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Black Stone Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Black Stone Minerals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.00.

Black Stone Minerals Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.14.

Black Stone Minerals (NYSE:BSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $99.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.41 million. Black Stone Minerals had a net margin of 57.23% and a return on equity of 36.99%. As a group, research analysts predict that Black Stone Minerals, L.P. will post 0.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Stone Minerals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Black Stone Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Black Stone Minerals’s payout ratio is currently 137.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Stone Minerals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GraniteShares Advisors LLC increased its stake in Black Stone Minerals by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 209,494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 16.7% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 122,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 17,563 shares in the last quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 21.5% in the third quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC now owns 121,562 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 1.6% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 62,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 59,827 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 13,950 shares in the last quarter. 14.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Black Stone Minerals

Black Stone Minerals, L.P. is a Houston-based owner of oil and natural gas mineral and royalty interests. The company leases these interests to exploration and production companies, which develop and operate the properties.

Black Stone Minerals generally does not drill wells itself. Instead, it earns royalties and other payments tied to production from wells on its properties, including oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

Its portfolio spans multiple onshore oil and gas regions across the United States, including areas in the Permian Basin, Haynesville shale and Eagle Ford.