Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on GNK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners downgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GNK opened at $21.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $932.68 million, a P/E ratio of -195.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.52 and its 200-day moving average is $19.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1-year low of $11.20 and a 1-year high of $24.81.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The shipping company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Genco Shipping & Trading had a negative return on equity of 0.12% and a negative net margin of 1.28%.The business had revenue of $109.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.3%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is currently -1,818.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genco Shipping & Trading news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 18,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $436,527.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,754.34. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 13,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $315,032.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 66,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,169.32. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,824 shares of company stock worth $1,313,949. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNK. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the 2nd quarter worth $255,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,549,197 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,248,000 after buying an additional 86,317 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 727.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 215,412 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 189,383 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 18.4% in the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 351,045 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,248,000 after acquiring an additional 54,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 147.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,141 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 29,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The company’s fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Genco’s focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions.

In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety.