Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.96 and last traded at $27.8510, with a volume of 301826 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Genco Shipping & Trading from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Alliance Global Partners reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business had revenue of $136.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 68.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.4%. This is a positive change from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is 351.65%.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GNK. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 364.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 307,663 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,938,000 after acquiring an additional 241,471 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 286,568 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 102,868 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,751 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 25,002 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 135,166 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 153,263 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 38,310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE: GNK) is a global drybulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport essential commodities. Its cargoes include iron ore, coal, grain and other raw materials that support industrial and agricultural supply chains.

The company operates a diversified fleet of large Capesize vessels and smaller Ultramax and Supramax vessels. This range of ship sizes enables Genco to serve different cargo requirements and trade routes across major international markets, including the Atlantic and Pacific basins.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Genco manages its fleet through a combination of in-house commercial and technical capabilities.