Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) Trading 6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA)’s stock price shot up 6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $79.00 and last traded at $78.2090. Approximately 7,377 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 63,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESEA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Euroseas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Euroseas from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Euroseas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Euroseas Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $514.11 million, a PE ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 5.46 and a quick ratio of 5.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.67 and its 200-day moving average is $67.75.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The shipping company reported $4.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $56.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.98 million. Euroseas had a return on equity of 27.49% and a net margin of 59.98%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Euroseas Ltd. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Euroseas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Euroseas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euroseas

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Euroseas in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Euroseas by 387.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Euroseas by 540.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,280 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the third quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Euroseas during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.27% of the company’s stock.

Euroseas Company Profile

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) is an international shipping company specializing in seaborne transportation of containerized and drybulk cargoes. Incorporated in Bermuda with its principal operations and management office based in Athens, Greece, the company owns and charters a diversified fleet of containerships, drybulk carriers and multipurpose vessels. Euroseas provides tailored shipping solutions on time-charter and voyage-charter agreements, serving manufacturers, commodity traders and logistics providers across major trade routes.

Euroseas’s fleet comprises both owned and chartered tonnage, enabling the company to adjust capacity to market conditions and customer requirements.