CrossAmerica Partners LP (NYSE:CAPL) Short Interest Up 8.9% in December

CrossAmerica Partners LP (NYSE:CAPL) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 131,500 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the December 15th total of 120,700 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 32,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CrossAmerica Partners

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CrossAmerica Partners by 376.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CrossAmerica Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $279,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CrossAmerica Partners during the second quarter worth $348,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in CrossAmerica Partners by 18.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 4,267 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in CrossAmerica Partners by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 6,259 shares in the last quarter. 24.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of CrossAmerica Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

CrossAmerica Partners Stock Performance

Shares of CAPL stock opened at $22.68 on Tuesday. CrossAmerica Partners has a fifty-two week low of $18.43 and a fifty-two week high of $24.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $862.72 million, a PE ratio of 43.61 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.76.

CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. CrossAmerica Partners had a net margin of 0.50% and a negative return on equity of 104.40%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CrossAmerica Partners will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

CrossAmerica Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.26%. CrossAmerica Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 403.85%.

About CrossAmerica Partners

CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, operation of convenience stores, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, and company operated retail sites.