Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) Stock Falls 7.4% – Time to Sell?

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE:REPX)’s share price traded down 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $49.60 and last traded at $49.3350. 99,405 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 315,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

REPX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Riley Exploration Permian from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Riley Exploration Permian from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Riley Exploration Permian in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Riley Exploration Permian Stock Down 8.6%

The company has a market cap of $949.96 million, a P/E ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.35 and a 200 day moving average of $36.29.

Riley Exploration Permian Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Riley Exploration Permian’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Riley Exploration Permian’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Corey Riley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.20, for a total transaction of $123,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 210,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,394,182.40. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Philip A. Riley sold 4,000 shares of Riley Exploration Permian stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $150,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 235,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,857,267.83. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $721,765. 4.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian in the second quarter worth $40,302,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Riley Exploration Permian by 15.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 616,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,474,000 after purchasing an additional 80,770 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 572.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 608,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,192,000 after buying an additional 518,340 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Riley Exploration Permian by 134.0% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 430,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,204,000 after acquiring an additional 246,798 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Riley Exploration Permian by 30.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 325,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,742,000 after acquiring an additional 75,993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.91% of the company’s stock.

Riley Exploration Permian Company Profile

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused on developing hydrocarbon properties in the Permian Basin. Its activities include acquiring acreage, drilling and completing wells, and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

The company’s operations are concentrated in the U.S. Permian Basin, with a particular focus on properties in southeastern New Mexico. Riley Exploration Permian primarily uses horizontal drilling and related completion techniques to develop its operated acreage and extract resources from unconventional formations.

Riley Exploration Permian became a publicly traded company in 2021.