Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP)

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 3,410 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 243% compared to the typical daily volume of 994 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy J. Whelan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.13, for a total transaction of $1,256,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 93,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,358,450.50. The trade was a 34.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliance Resource Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARLP. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 34,283 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 17,647 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,816 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Alliance Resource Partners by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 19,971 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Alliance Resource Partners by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 7,278 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.11% of the company’s stock.

Alliance Resource Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARLP opened at $26.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.24 and a 200 day moving average of $26.37. Alliance Resource Partners has a 52-week low of $20.59 and a 52-week high of $30.56.

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The energy company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.38). Alliance Resource Partners had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 14.74%. On average, research analysts expect that Alliance Resource Partners will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliance Resource Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Alliance Resource Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ARLP. StockNews.com downgraded Alliance Resource Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of Alliance Resource Partners in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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.