Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $11.20 and last traded at $12.48, with a volume of 779609 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Pareto Securities raised shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.24. The company has a market cap of $537.90 million, a P/E ratio of 7.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $67.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.36 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $189,883.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,322 shares in the company, valued at $800,215.12. This trade represents a 19.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 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 value of $86,914.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,532.84. This represents a 18.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 1,119.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter valued at about $147,000. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.