Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.99, but opened at $12.60. Genco Shipping & Trading shares last traded at $12.88, with a volume of 126,665 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Pareto Securities upgraded Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genco Shipping & Trading presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Up 10.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $563.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.73 and its 200-day moving average is $15.09.

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

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $189,883.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,215.12. This trade represents a 19.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $86,914.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,532.84. The trade was a 18.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 173,270 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter valued at about $332,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 499.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 103,387 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 86,147 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 65,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 22,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,071,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,318,000 after acquiring an additional 23,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

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.