International Seaways Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:INSW)

International Seaways Inc. (NYSE:INSW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 68,090 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 4,284% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,553 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on INSW shares. Zacks Research downgraded International Seaways from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of International Seaways from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of International Seaways from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of International Seaways in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of International Seaways in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.75.

International Seaways Stock Down 2.4%

INSW opened at $102.15 on Friday. International Seaways has a 1-year low of $42.26 and a 1-year high of $106.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.72. The company has a current ratio of 5.94, a quick ratio of 5.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of -0.13.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The transportation company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $467.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.38 million. International Seaways had a net margin of 61.98% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 138.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that International Seaways will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current year.

International Seaways Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $5.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $20.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.8%. This is an increase from International Seaways’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. International Seaways’s payout ratio is currently 3.07%.

Insider Transactions at International Seaways

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Pribor sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 101,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,330,053.12. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lois Zabrocky sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $196,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 173,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,103,457.80. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,000 shares of company stock worth $441,240. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Seaways

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of International Seaways by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 638,791 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,013,000 after buying an additional 12,188 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Seaways in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,273,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in International Seaways by 43.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 24,942 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,818,000 after buying an additional 7,511 shares in the last quarter. Cercano Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Seaways during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,137,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new position in International Seaways during the 2nd quarter worth $4,161,000. Institutional investors own 67.29% of the company’s stock.

About International Seaways

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.