Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) Short Interest Update

Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 85,713 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the February 26th total of 103,567 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 17,464 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MMLP shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Martin Midstream Partners from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Martin Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Martin Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of MMLP opened at $2.50 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.78 and its 200-day moving average is $2.78. Martin Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $2.21 and a 12-month high of $3.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.65 million, a P/E ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 0.56.

Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $174.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.47 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Midstream Partners will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.005 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Martin Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5.41%.

Institutional Trading of Martin Midstream Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 216.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 581,020 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 397,163 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Martin Midstream Partners by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,837,328 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,320,000 after acquiring an additional 420,000 shares in the last quarter. Lee Financial Co purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Midstream Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $830,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Martin Midstream Partners by 221.2% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Martin Midstream Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 34.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.