Pareto Securities Upgrades Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) to “Strong-Buy”

Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genco Shipping & Trading currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GNK opened at $13.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.46. Genco Shipping & Trading has a fifty-two week low of $13.08 and a fifty-two week high of $23.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $585.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.27). Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $67.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.36 million. As a group, analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genco Shipping & Trading

In other Genco Shipping & Trading news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $125,416.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $86,914.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at $374,532.84. This trade represents a 18.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,838,759 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,572,000 after acquiring an additional 10,193 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,361,597 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,981,000 after purchasing an additional 111,564 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,190,467 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,214,000 after purchasing an additional 12,001 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,071,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,318,000 after buying an additional 23,101 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 990,357 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,809,000 after buying an additional 10,260 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is an international ship owning company, which engages in the transportation of iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. The company was founded on September 27, 2004 and is headquartered in New York, NY.