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

Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on GNK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Alliance Global Partners cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genco Shipping & Trading news, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.67, for a total transaction of $150,067.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,744.73. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 13,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $315,032.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 66,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,169.32. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,824 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,949. 2.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 125,535 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter worth $1,070,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 543,290 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,013,000 after purchasing an additional 272,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 181,765 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 81,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

NYSE GNK opened at $23.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -216.53, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.17. Genco Shipping & Trading has a fifty-two week low of $12.11 and a fifty-two week high of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The shipping company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $109.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.52 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a negative net margin of 1.28% and a negative return on equity of 0.12%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is presently -1,818.18%.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The company’s fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Genco’s focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions.

In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety.