Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Natural Resource Partners LP (NYSE:NRP) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 87,222 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 85% from the previous session’s volume of 47,092 shares.The stock last traded at $114.25 and had previously closed at $123.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Resource Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Natural Resource Partners presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Natural Resource Partners Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.14.

Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The energy company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter. Natural Resource Partners had a net margin of 64.78% and a return on equity of 25.31%.

Natural Resource Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Natural Resource Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natural Resource Partners by 144.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Natural Resource Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Natural Resource Partners in the second quarter valued at about $137,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Natural Resource Partners by 65.4% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,871 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Natural Resource Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 31.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natural Resource Partners

Natural Resource Partners LP (NYSE: NRP) is a master limited partnership that acquires and manages royalty and other mineral interests in coal and other natural resources across North America and Australia. The partnership was formed in 2010 as a spin-out from a major U.S. coal producer and is headquartered in Fairmont, West Virginia. Its core business model centers on owning gross proceeds interests, gross royalty proceeds interests and fee minerals, which provide the right to receive a portion of revenues from mining and mineral production without operating the mines directly.

NRP’s U.S.