Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.20.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GNK. StockNews.com lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Genco Shipping & Trading Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:GNK opened at $14.28 on Wednesday. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $23.43. The firm has a market cap of $610.61 million, a PE ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.99. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $15.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.01.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The shipping company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41. The business had revenue of $99.33 million during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.20%. This is a boost from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is 101.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 66.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,050,030 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,376,000 after purchasing an additional 419,730 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,345,000 after buying an additional 219,907 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 694.2% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 239,213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,098,000 after buying an additional 209,093 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after buying an additional 173,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 16.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,096,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,372,000 after acquiring an additional 154,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.