Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Announces Dividend of $0.15

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) declared a dividend on Tuesday, May 20th, investing.com reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the shipping company on Friday, May 30th. This represents a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd.

Genco Shipping & Trading has increased its dividend payment by an average of 69.9% per year over the last three years. Genco Shipping & Trading has a payout ratio of 39.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Genco Shipping & Trading to earn $1.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.1%.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

NYSE:GNK opened at $14.05 on Tuesday. 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 has a twelve month low of $11.20 and a twelve month high of $23.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $603.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.34.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The shipping company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.02). Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $41.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 39.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $189,883.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,215.12. This trade represents a 19.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,532.84. This represents a 18.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216. 2.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 68.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 22,007 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 29.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 8,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 296,188 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,957,000 after buying an additional 97,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 59.5% in the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 17,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 6,660 shares during the period. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Dnb Nor Markets raised shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Pareto Securities upgraded Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.75.

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, bauxite, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. It operates through the Major Bulk and Minor Bulk segments. The Major Bulk segment focuses on Capesize vessels. The Minor Bulk segment consists of Ultramax and Supramax vessels.