Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 1,240,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 696,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Scott & Selber Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the third quarter worth $35,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 48.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Diana Shipping in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Diana Shipping Price Performance

Shares of Diana Shipping stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $2.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 446,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,183. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.88. Diana Shipping has a one year low of $2.81 and a one year high of $4.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market cap of $327.90 million, a P/E ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.20.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $56.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.02 million. Diana Shipping had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 10.34%. On average, analysts predict that Diana Shipping will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Diana Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.34%. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.77%.

Diana Shipping Company Profile

Diana Shipping Inc provides shipping transportation services. The company transports a range of dry bulk cargoes, including commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials in shipping routes worldwide. As of March 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 38 dry bulk vessels, including 4 Newcastlemax, 8 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 9 Ultramax, and 6 Panamax.