Delek Logistics Partners, L.P. (NYSE:DKL) Short Interest Down 62.9% in August

Delek Logistics Partners, L.P. (NYSE:DKL) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 133,129 shares, a drop of 62.9% from the August 15th total of 358,771 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 135,287 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on DKL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Delek Logistics Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Delek Logistics Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Delek Logistics Partners in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Reuven Spiegel bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $50.00 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 29,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,477,450. This trade represents a 3.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Avigal Soreq purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.00 per share, with a total value of $125,000.00. Following the purchase, the president directly owned 84,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,239,100. The trade was a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 15,000 shares of company stock worth $750,000. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delek Logistics Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Delek Logistics Partners by 60.9% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delek Logistics Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,703,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delek Logistics Partners by 2.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Delek Logistics Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.75% of the company’s stock.

Delek Logistics Partners Price Performance

Shares of Delek Logistics Partners stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 249,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,437. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.00. Delek Logistics Partners has a 12-month low of $42.35 and a 12-month high of $61.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 386.77.

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

Delek Logistics Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $4.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. This is a boost from Delek Logistics Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Delek Logistics Partners’s payout ratio is 158.19%.

About Delek Logistics Partners

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.