Short Interest in Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) Expands By 116.0%

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 5,649 shares, a growth of 116.0% from the June 15th total of 2,615 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,611 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Marine Petroleum Trust Trading Up 1.0%

MARPS stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.91. The company had a trading volume of 9,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,609. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.81. Marine Petroleum Trust has a fifty-two week low of $4.05 and a fifty-two week high of $6.49. The company has a market cap of $9.82 million, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.38.

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Marine Petroleum Trust had a return on equity of 66.30% and a net margin of 65.28%.The company had revenue of $0.23 million during the quarter.

Marine Petroleum Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.0965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.39 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Marine Petroleum Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marine Petroleum Trust

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Marine Petroleum Trust stock. Welch Group LLC acquired a new position in Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 15,956 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000. Welch Group LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Marine Petroleum Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 1.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MARPS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marine Petroleum Trust to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marine Petroleum Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Marine Petroleum Trust Company Profile

Marine Petroleum Trust is a royalty trust that holds overriding royalty interests in petroleum and natural gas production assets on Alaska’s North Slope. Established in 1998, the trust’s primary asset is its net profits interest in the Nikaitchuq Unit, a large oil field operated under state and federal leases. Rather than engaging in exploration or production itself, Marine Petroleum Trust receives income in the form of royalties and net profits from production activities carried out by the unit operator.

The trust’s revenues are generated solely by hydrocarbons extracted from the Nikaitchuq field, with crude oil transported via the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.