Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) Stock Short Interest Jumps 84.4%

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,192 shares, an increase of 84.4% from the August 31st total of 1,731 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,293 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marine Petroleum Trust

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Marine Petroleum Trust stock. Welch Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,956 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000. Welch Group LLC owned 0.80% of Marine Petroleum Trust at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Marine Petroleum Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ MARPS traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $4.24. 5,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,442. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.48 million, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.38. Marine Petroleum Trust has a 52-week low of $4.05 and a 52-week high of $6.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.83.

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 25th. The energy company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Marine Petroleum Trust had a net margin of 67.00% and a return on equity of 69.06%. The company had revenue of $0.26 million for the quarter.

Marine Petroleum Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.0954 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.0%. This is a drop from Marine Petroleum Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0965. Marine Petroleum Trust’s payout ratio is 111.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marine Petroleum Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Marine Petroleum Trust Company Profile

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ: MARPS) is a grantor trust that holds royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. Rather than operating wells or selling energy products directly, the trust receives royalty payments based on production from the properties in which it has interests.

The trust’s interests are primarily associated with offshore oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly areas off the coast of Louisiana. Its cash distributions are therefore tied to production volumes, commodity prices, operating activity by the property operators and the remaining economic life of the underlying reserves.

Marine Petroleum Trust was established in 1955 and is managed under the terms of its trust agreement.