Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Hits New 1-Year High After Strong Earnings

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $57.96 and last traded at $56.7420, with a volume of 11499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.65.

The company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.59. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 41.26% and a return on equity of 41.96%. The business had revenue of $170.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.02 million.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a $2.00 dividend. This is an increase from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 165.78%.

Key Okeanis Eco Tankers News

Here are the key news stories impacting Okeanis Eco Tankers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings of $2.33 per share and revenue of about $170 million both topped analyst estimates, highlighting better-than-expected operating performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a $2.00 quarterly dividend, a 29% increase from the prior payout, signaling confidence in current earnings power and supporting the stock’s income appeal. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said it expects Q2 fixed days to average about $202,900 per day, reflecting exceptionally strong VLCC charter rates and continued benefit from Middle East shipping disruption. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: TradeWinds reported that Okeanis posted record profit as VLCC rates surged above $200,000 per day, suggesting the company is benefiting from a highly favorable tanker market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also discussed potential Gulf gridlock and how VLCC owners might navigate congestion near Hormuz; this underscores the geopolitical backdrop, but it is more of an industry risk/opportunity note than a direct company-specific event. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ECO. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.05 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECO. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,416,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,696,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,911,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,222,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 647.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 124,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,200,000 after buying an additional 107,505 shares during the last quarter.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.09.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, publicly traded shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of eco-design product tankers. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ECO” in May 2019 following an initial public offering. It focuses on the acquisition of newbuilding medium-range (MR) and long-range (LR) product tankers designed to deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

As of its public listing, Okeanis Eco Tankers’ fleet comprises twelve eco-efficient vessels built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.