American Resources Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AREC)

American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 16,039 put options on the company. This is an increase of 124% compared to the average daily volume of 7,148 put options.

American Resources Price Performance

AREC stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.20. 1,620,648 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,930,077. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.26. American Resources has a 52-week low of $0.38 and a 52-week high of $7.11. The company has a market capitalization of $222.55 million, a P/E ratio of -5.30 and a beta of 1.12.

American Resources (NASDAQ:AREC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $0.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.01 million. As a group, analysts forecast that American Resources will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. D Boral Capital raised American Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen raised American Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of American Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of American Resources in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on shares of American Resources in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Resources news, major shareholder Properties Ltd. Golden sold 290,000 shares of American Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.13, for a total transaction of $1,197,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,288,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,492,876.16. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,564,818 shares of company stock valued at $10,405,579. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Resources by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,124,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,437,000 after buying an additional 120,065 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in American Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,524,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in American Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $790,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, CWM LLC bought a new position in American Resources in the third quarter worth about $429,000. Institutional investors own 9.32% of the company’s stock.

About American Resources

American Resources Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, extracts, processes, transports, and sells metallurgical coal to the steel and industrial industries. It supplies raw materials; and sells coal used in pulverized coal injections. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Fishers, Indiana.