International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on INSW. Pareto Securities downgraded International Seaways from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on International Seaways from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of International Seaways in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on International Seaways from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

International Seaways Trading Down 1.0%

INSW opened at $98.98 on Monday. International Seaways has a twelve month low of $42.26 and a twelve month high of $102.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.71 and a 200-day moving average of $80.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 5.76, a current ratio of 5.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The transportation company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.36. International Seaways had a net margin of 61.98% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The business had revenue of $467.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. International Seaways’s revenue for the quarter was up 138.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Seaways will post 15.89 EPS for the current year.

International Seaways Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $5.05 dividend. This is an increase from International Seaways’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $20.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. International Seaways’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.07%.

Insider Activity at International Seaways

In other International Seaways news, CEO Lois K. Zabrocky sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $196,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 173,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,103,457.80. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Pribor sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.68, for a total transaction of $81,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 101,984 shares in the company, valued at $8,330,053.12. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,000 shares of company stock worth $441,240. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Seaways

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Seaways by 6.8% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,072 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,456,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in International Seaways in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,566,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 7,351.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,714,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $284,491,000 after acquiring an additional 3,664,614 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Seaways during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Seaways during the 2nd quarter valued at about $271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.29% of the company’s stock.

International Seaways Company Profile

International Seaways, Inc (NYSE: INSW) is an independent tanker company that provides seaborne transportation services to oil companies, commodity traders and national oil companies. The firm’s operations focus on the carriage of crude oil and refined petroleum products, offering both time­ charter and voyage­ charter arrangements. With a modern fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax and Aframax tankers, as well as medium range (MR) and Handy product tankers, International Seaways supports global energy supply chains across major trade routes.

Founded in 1997 as Diamond S Shipping, the company completed its initial public offering in the late 1990s and rebranded to International Seaways in September 2018.