Danaos (NYSE:DAC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Danaos Corporation (NYSE:DAC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $97.55 and last traded at $96.80, with a volume of 5228 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $96.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on DAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Danaos in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Danaos in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Danaos has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Danaos Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.88.

Danaos (NYSE:DAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The shipping company reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.17 by ($0.42). The company had revenue of $260.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.63 million. Danaos had a net margin of 44.62% and a return on equity of 13.88%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Danaos Corporation will post 29.21 EPS for the current year.

Danaos Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Danaos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. Danaos’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.37%.

Institutional Trading of Danaos

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ion Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Danaos by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 654,308 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,428,000 after purchasing an additional 87,614 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Danaos by 161.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 133,401 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,981,000 after acquiring an additional 82,450 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Danaos by 183.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 46,215 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after buying an additional 29,921 shares during the period. Hi Line Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaos in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,481,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaos in the third quarter worth about $2,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.01% of the company’s stock.

About Danaos

Danaos Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides container and drybulk vessels services in Australia, Asia, and Europe. The company offers seaborne transportation services by operating vessels in the containership and drybulk sectors of the shipping industry. As of April 03, 2024, it had a fleet of 68 containerships aggregating 421,293 twenty-foot equivalent units in capacity.