Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SHIP. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Seanergy Maritime from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Seanergy Maritime in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

Seanergy Maritime Price Performance

Shares of Seanergy Maritime stock opened at $15.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.92. Seanergy Maritime has a twelve month low of $7.21 and a twelve month high of $18.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.20.

Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. Seanergy Maritime had a net margin of 30.68% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $55.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.90 million. Analysts forecast that Seanergy Maritime will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Seanergy Maritime Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Seanergy Maritime’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Seanergy Maritime’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

Insider Transactions at Seanergy Maritime

In other Seanergy Maritime news, Director Christina Anagnostara sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total value of $257,850.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 178,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,063,928.41. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seanergy Maritime

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Seanergy Maritime by 15.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 652,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,421,000 after acquiring an additional 88,800 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC raised its position in Seanergy Maritime by 674.4% during the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 294,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 256,492 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Seanergy Maritime by 400.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 293,220 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 234,672 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Seanergy Maritime by 5.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 159,972 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Seanergy Maritime by 235.9% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 100,363 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 70,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.36% of the company’s stock.

Seanergy Maritime Company Profile

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) is a dry bulk shipping company that provides seaborne transportation services for major commodities, including iron ore, coal and grain. The company’s operations encompass both time charter and voyage charter contracts, enabling customers to secure vessel capacity on either a fixed-rate or spot basis. Its client base includes commodity producers, trading houses and industrial end users seeking global logistics solutions for bulk materials.

The company’s core assets consist of a fleet of modern dry bulk carriers, spanning Capesize, Panamax and Supramax classes.