Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) Short Interest Down 36.0% in March

Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 54,833 shares, a decline of 36.0% from the March 15th total of 85,713 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,280 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Midstream Partners

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Martin Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Midstream Partners by 139.3% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 24,068 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 14,010 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in Martin Midstream Partners by 298.9% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 44,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 33,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Martin Midstream Partners by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 114,935 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. 34.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Martin Midstream Partners Trading Up 7.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MMLP traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $2.84. The company had a trading volume of 24,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,045. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.74. The stock has a market cap of $110.92 million, a P/E ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 0.57. Martin Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $2.21 and a 52-week high of $3.54.

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

Martin Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Martin Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is -5.41%.

Martin Midstream Partners Company Profile

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.