Analysts Set Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Target Price at $23.00

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Pareto Securities raised shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GNK opened at $13.56 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.14 and its 200 day moving average is $15.44. The stock has a market cap of $579.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1-year low of $13.08 and a 1-year high of $23.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.27). Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.36 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.85%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Insider Transactions at Genco Shipping & Trading

In related news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $125,416.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $86,914.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,532.84. This represents a 18.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 6,097 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 127,852 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 33,949 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 31,904 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 198,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after buying an additional 71,122 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 792.0% in the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 110,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 98,130 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is an international ship owning company, which engages in the transportation of iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. The company was founded on September 27, 2004 and is headquartered in New York, NY.