Delek Logistics Partners, L.P. (NYSE:DKL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Delek Logistics Partners, L.P. (NYSE:DKL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 273,991 shares, a growth of 105.8% from the August 31st total of 133,129 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 149,715 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DKL. UBS Group increased their target price on Delek Logistics Partners from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Delek Logistics Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Delek Logistics Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delek Logistics Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.60.

Insider Activity at Delek Logistics Partners

In other Delek Logistics Partners news, EVP Reuven Spiegel acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.00 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 29,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,477,450. This trade represents a 3.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark Hobbs acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,250. This represents a 19.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $750,000 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delek Logistics Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Delek Logistics Partners by 60.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delek Logistics Partners by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 173,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $8,935,000 after acquiring an additional 62,267 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delek Logistics Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $1,703,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delek Logistics Partners by 2.2% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 13,724 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Delek Logistics Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 11.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delek Logistics Partners Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE DKL opened at $53.24 on Wednesday. Delek Logistics Partners has a 1 year low of $42.35 and a 1 year high of $61.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 386.77, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Delek Logistics Partners (NYSE:DKL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.39). Delek Logistics Partners had a net margin of 12.85% and a negative return on equity of 935.80%. The business had revenue of $384.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.64 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delek Logistics Partners will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Delek Logistics Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.1350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is an increase from Delek Logistics Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.5%. Delek Logistics Partners’s payout ratio is currently 158.19%.

Delek Logistics Partners Company Profile

Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE: DKL) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure. The partnership was formed in 2012 and is sponsored by Delek US Holdings, Inc, an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products.

Delek Logistics provides transportation, storage, gathering, terminalling, wholesale marketing and other logistics services for crude oil, refined products and certain intermediate products. Its assets include crude oil gathering systems, pipelines, storage facilities, terminals and truck-transportation operations.