Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Upgraded at Dnb Nor Markets

Dnb Nor Markets upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GNK opened at $13.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $584.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.51. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1-year low of $11.20 and a 1-year high of $23.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 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 business had revenue of $67.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.36 million. Analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Insider Transactions at Genco Shipping & Trading

In other Genco Shipping & Trading news, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value 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. This represents a 18.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNK. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter worth about $332,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 173,270 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22,316 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 499.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 103,387 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 86,147 shares during the period. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc lifted 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 buying an additional 23,101 shares during the period. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

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.