Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) was the target 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. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,293 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Marine Petroleum Trust Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of MARPS stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $4.38. The stock had a trading volume of 22,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,600. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.83. Marine Petroleum Trust has a 12 month low of $4.05 and a 12 month high of $6.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 million, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Marine Petroleum Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.0954 per share. This is a decrease from Marine Petroleum Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0965. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. Marine Petroleum Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marine Petroleum Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 & Exchange Commission. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

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.