Black Stone Minerals (NYSE:BSM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Black Stone Minerals, L.P. (NYSE:BSM) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday. Approximately 1,394,949 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 246% from the average daily volume of 403,687 shares. The stock last traded at $13.7840 and had previously closed at $13.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BSM shares. Weiss Ratings raised Black Stone Minerals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research lowered Black Stone Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Black Stone Minerals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.69 and its 200 day moving average is $14.50.

Black Stone Minerals (NYSE:BSM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.05). Black Stone Minerals had a net margin of 57.23% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $99.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.41 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Black Stone Minerals, L.P. will post 0.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Stone Minerals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Black Stone Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.1%. Black Stone Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is 137.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Thomas L. Carter, Jr. bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.73 per share, with a total value of $686,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 3,732,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,250,300.52. The trade was a 1.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Whitehead sold 671,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total value of $9,007,638.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 17.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Stone Minerals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IKE Capital LLC raised its holdings in Black Stone Minerals by 6.2% in the second quarter. IKE Capital LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 1.6% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 62,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 3.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 42,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 12.7% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saber Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Black Stone Minerals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Saber Capital Management LLC now owns 618,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $8,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.49% of the company’s stock.

About Black Stone Minerals

Black Stone Minerals, L.P. is a Houston-based owner of oil and natural gas mineral and royalty interests. The company leases these interests to exploration and production companies, which develop and operate the properties. Black Stone Minerals generally does not drill wells itself. Instead, it earns royalties and other payments tied to production from wells on its properties, including oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio spans multiple onshore oil and gas regions across the United States, including areas in the Permian Basin, Haynesville shale and Eagle Ford.