Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Ramaco Resources Call Options (NASDAQ:METC)

Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:METC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 3,162 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 259% compared to the typical volume of 880 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

METC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ramaco Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ramaco Resources from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Ramaco Resources Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:METC opened at $8.34 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.40 and a 200 day moving average of $10.46. The company has a market cap of $450.36 million, a PE ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 1.14. Ramaco Resources has a 12-month low of $7.87 and a 12-month high of $16.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The energy company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $170.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.59 million. Ramaco Resources had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 10.17%. Ramaco Resources’s revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ramaco Resources will post 0.05 EPS for the current year.

Ramaco Resources Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.0688 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Ramaco Resources’s payout ratio is currently 245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ramaco Resources

In related news, Director Peter A. Leidel sold 245,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.85, for a total transaction of $2,168,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 695,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,156,068.85. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Yorktown Energy Partners Xi, L sold 98,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.85, for a total transaction of $869,724.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,052,404 shares in the company, valued at $9,313,775.40. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 922,582 shares of company stock worth $7,898,023. 41.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ramaco Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pingora Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ramaco Resources by 330.2% in the third quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ramaco Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ramaco Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ramaco Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Ramaco Resources in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.49% of the company’s stock.

Ramaco Resources Company Profile

Ramaco Resources, Inc engages in the development, operation, and sale of metallurgical coal. Its development portfolio includes the Elk Creek project that covers an area of approximately 20,200 acres located in southern West Virginia; the Berwind property covering an area of approximately 62,500 acres situated on the border of West Virginia and Virginia; the Knox Creek property, which covers an area of approximately 64,050 acres is located in Virginia; the Maben property covering an area of approximately 28,000 acres situated in southwestern Pennsylvania southern West Virginia; and the Brook Mine property that covers an area of approximately 16,000 acres located in northeastern Wyoming.