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

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,800 shares, a growth of 107.1% from the February 28th total of 2,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Marine Petroleum Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MARPS traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,861. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.01. Marine Petroleum Trust has a 1 year low of $3.76 and a 1 year high of $6.50.

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The energy company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Marine Petroleum Trust had a return on equity of 63.85% and a net margin of 63.53%. The firm had revenue of $170 billion during the quarter.

Marine Petroleum Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.0771 per share. This represents a $0.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Marine Petroleum Trust’s payout ratio is 96.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marine Petroleum Trust in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

About Marine Petroleum Trust

Marine Petroleum Trust, together with its subsidiary, Marine Petroleum Corporation, operates as a royalty trust in the United States. It has overriding royalty interest in oil and natural gas leases in the Central and Western areas of the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Marine Petroleum Trust was founded in 1956 and is based in Dallas, Texas.