Granite Ridge Resources (NYSE:GRNT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. (NYSE:GRNT) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,168,922 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 949,048 shares.The stock last traded at $4.9250 and had previously closed at $4.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GRNT shares. Freedom Capital upgraded Granite Ridge Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Ridge Resources from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Granite Ridge Resources in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Ridge Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of Granite Ridge Resources in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Granite Ridge Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Granite Ridge Resources Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $649.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.48 and a beta of 0.21.

Granite Ridge Resources (NYSE:GRNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Granite Ridge Resources had a positive return on equity of 4.67% and a negative net margin of 5.56%.The business had revenue of $149.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.44 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Ridge Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. Granite Ridge Resources’s payout ratio is -209.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Granite Ridge Resources news, CFO Ronald Kettler purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.05 per share, for a total transaction of $30,300.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,276 shares in the company, valued at $683,143.80. This trade represents a 4.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew Miller purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.03 per share, for a total transaction of $50,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,974,292 shares in the company, valued at $9,930,688.76. This represents a 0.51% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 24,000 shares of company stock valued at $120,800 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Ridge Resources

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Ridge Resources in the second quarter worth about $21,910,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Granite Ridge Resources by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,306,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,414,000 after acquiring an additional 448,066 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Granite Ridge Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,624,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Granite Ridge Resources by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,575,000 after purchasing an additional 12,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zazove Associates LLC boosted its position in Granite Ridge Resources by 1.4% during the first quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 692,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the period. 31.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Granite Ridge Resources Company Profile

Granite Ridge Resources, Inc (NYSE:GRNT) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused primarily on non-operated assets. Rather than serving as the primary operator of most properties, the company invests alongside established exploration and production companies and participates in the development of unconventional wells.

The company’s portfolio includes interests in producing properties, undeveloped acreage and mineral assets across several major U.S.