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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genco Shipping & Trading presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

Shares of GNK stock opened at $13.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $585.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1-year low of $13.08 and a 1-year high of $23.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.46.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released 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). The business had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.36 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 7.82%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Genco Shipping & Trading

In related news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $189,883.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,215.12. The trade was a 19.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $125,416.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,703.96. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216. 2.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 535.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,266 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the third quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

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.