Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 66.2% in September

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 55,584 shares, an increase of 66.2% from the August 31st total of 33,435 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 32,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Symeon Pariaros sold 950 shares of Euroseas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $75,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,100. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Euroseas by 36.2% during the second quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,149 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas during the 1st quarter worth $323,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Euroseas in the second quarter valued at about $423,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Euroseas by 33.1% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 8,036 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Euroseas by 94.8% during the second quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 15,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 7,575 shares in the last quarter. 6.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Euroseas Price Performance

NASDAQ ESEA traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.44. The company had a trading volume of 18,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,363. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.75. The company has a market capitalization of $503.97 million, a PE ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.46, a quick ratio of 5.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Euroseas has a twelve month low of $51.00 and a twelve month high of $79.67.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The shipping company reported $4.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $56.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.98 million. Euroseas had a return on equity of 26.58% and a net margin of 59.98%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Euroseas will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Euroseas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. Euroseas’s dividend payout ratio is 16.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESEA shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Euroseas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Euroseas from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of Euroseas in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

About Euroseas

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) is a shipping company that owns and operates containerships. The company primarily focuses on feeder and intermediate-size vessels, which transport containerized cargo on regional and international trade routes and connect smaller ports with major shipping hubs.

Euroseas charters its vessels to liner companies and other customers under a combination of time-charter and voyage arrangements. Its fleet serves global container transportation markets, with operations managed from Greece and vessels registered under international shipping jurisdictions.

Founded in 2005, Euroseas is led by Aristides Pittas, who serves as chairman and chief executive officer.