Pangaea Logistics Solutions (NASDAQ:PANL) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:PANL) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $7.57, but opened at $8.10. Pangaea Logistics Solutions shares last traded at $8.3050, with a volume of 136,932 shares changing hands.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Pangaea Logistics Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pangaea Logistics Solutions

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pangaea Logistics Solutions by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,884,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,421,000 after buying an additional 351,385 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Pangaea Logistics Solutions by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 746,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 185,100 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in Pangaea Logistics Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $933,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Pangaea Logistics Solutions by 143.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 197,773 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 116,658 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Pangaea Logistics Solutions by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 208,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 83,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.23% of the company’s stock.

Pangaea Logistics Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $559.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.83.

Pangaea Logistics Solutions (NASDAQ:PANL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.90 million. Pangaea Logistics Solutions had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 9.68%. Analysts forecast that Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Pangaea Logistics Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Pangaea Logistics Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.78%.

Pangaea Logistics Solutions Company Profile

Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. is a global provider of dry-bulk shipping and logistics services. The company transports commodities such as minerals, grain and other bulk cargoes, coordinating ocean carriage with related logistics services. Its operations include vessel ownership and chartering, cargo planning, port and terminal services, stevedoring, and cargo loading and unloading. Pangaea also operates specialized vessels, including ice-class ships designed to serve ports and routes with challenging ice conditions.