Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 775,500 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the December 15th total of 830,900 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 462,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.20.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

Shares of GNK traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $14.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 450,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,285. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.07. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $615.50 million, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.99. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $23.43.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The shipping company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.41. The firm had revenue of $99.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.02 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.09) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.11%. This is an increase from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GNK. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the second quarter worth about $82,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 535.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,266 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 830.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,033 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 9,847 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the second quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.