Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Hits New 52-Week High at $21.31

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.31 and last traded at $21.30, with a volume of 190628 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GNK. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genco Shipping & Trading currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.12 and its 200-day moving average is $17.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.70 and a current ratio of 4.46.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The shipping company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.06. Genco Shipping & Trading had a negative net margin of 3.35% and a positive return on equity of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $115.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.54 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Genco Shipping & Trading’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is currently -529.03%.

Insider Transactions at Genco Shipping & Trading

In other news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 12,404 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.80, for a total value of $245,599.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,587 shares in the company, valued at $843,222.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 12,404 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.80, for a total value of $245,599.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,587 shares in the company, valued at $843,222.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 1,396 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total transaction of $28,478.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $367,077.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,496 shares of company stock worth $1,238,678 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 53,061 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.1% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,792 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 10.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 14.8% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ocean transportation of drybulk cargoes worldwide. The company owns and operates dry bulk vessels to transports iron ore, grains, coal, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. It charters its vessels primarily to trading houses, including commodities traders; producers; and government-owned entities.