StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) in a research note published on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Martin Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.9 %

MMLP stock opened at $2.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $105.69 million, a P/E ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 2.12. Martin Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $1.95 and a twelve month high of $3.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.52 and a 200-day moving average of $2.46.

Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $181.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.85 million. Martin Midstream Partners had a negative return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.52%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Midstream Partners will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Martin Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Martin Midstream Partners by 4.9% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,958,380 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 91,816 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Martin Midstream Partners by 0.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 690,561 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Martin Midstream Partners by 3.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 606,758 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after acquiring an additional 19,194 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its stake in Martin Midstream Partners by 35.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 122,231 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 31,999 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Martin Midstream Partners by 10.6% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 41,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 34.90% of the company’s stock.

About Martin Midstream Partners

Martin Midstream Partners L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides terminalling, processing, storage, and packaging services for petroleum products and by-products primarily in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Terminalling and Storage, Transportation, Sulfur Services, and Specialty Products.