Euronav NV (NYSE:EURN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Euronav NV (NYSE:EURN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.75.

EURN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Euronav from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Euronav in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.50 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Euronav in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Euronav Price Performance

Euronav stock opened at $15.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Euronav has a twelve month low of $12.94 and a twelve month high of $21.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.54.

Euronav (NYSE:EURN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $311.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.08 million. Euronav had a net margin of 45.95% and a return on equity of 26.55%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Euronav will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Euronav Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 7th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.29%. This is a boost from Euronav’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 6th. Euronav’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EURN. State of Tennessee Treasury Department bought a new position in Euronav in the second quarter valued at about $358,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Euronav in the second quarter valued at about $297,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Euronav by 94.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 37,751 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 18,330 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Euronav in the second quarter valued at about $5,013,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Euronav by 31.7% during the second quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 69,508 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 16,742 shares during the last quarter.

About Euronav

Euronav NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil worldwide. The company offers floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) services. It also owns and operates a fleet of vessels. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium.