Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 85,713 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the February 26th total of 103,567 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 17,464 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Martin Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:MMLP traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.76. 15,537 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,263. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $2.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.77. The company has a market cap of $107.79 million, a PE ratio of -7.46 and a beta of 0.56. Martin Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $2.21 and a 12-month high of $3.64.

Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $174.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.47 million. Analysts anticipate that Martin Midstream Partners will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.005 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Martin Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -5.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Midstream Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in Martin Midstream Partners by 12.3% during the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,837,328 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,320,000 after buying an additional 420,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 216.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 581,020 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 397,163 shares during the last quarter. Lee Financial Co purchased a new position in shares of Martin Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth about $830,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 221.2% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 107,339 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 73,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its position in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 298.9% in the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 44,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 33,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 34.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Martin Midstream Partners from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Martin Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.00.

About Martin Midstream Partners

Martin Midstream Partners L.P. is a publicly traded midstream energy partnership that provides storage, transportation and distribution services for petroleum and chemical products. The company’s operations encompass bulk liquid terminals, marine transportation services and handling facilities designed to support a variety of feedstocks and refined products. Through its network of terminals and pipelines, Martin Midstream serves refineries, petrochemical plants and other industrial customers, offering solutions that help optimize logistics and maintain supply chain reliability.

With core assets located along the U.S.