Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $1.70 and traded as high as $1.96. Diana Shipping shares last traded at $1.9250, with a volume of 1,089,406 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DSX has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diana Shipping from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Diana Shipping Stock Up 5.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $222.88 million, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The shipping company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Diana Shipping had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 4.93%. The firm had revenue of $51.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.00 million.

Diana Shipping Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diana Shipping

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DSX. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Diana Shipping by 407.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 80,684 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 64,784 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth about $278,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,088,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its stake in Diana Shipping by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 2,841,710 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,149,000 after buying an additional 417,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.68% of the company’s stock.

About Diana Shipping

Diana Shipping Inc is a global shipping company incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and headquartered in Athens, Greece. The company specializes in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels that transport a variety of commodities, including coal, iron ore, grains, fertilizers, steel products and other bulk materials. Diana Shipping’s fleet comprises Panamax, Capesize, Newcastlemax and Supramax/Newcastlemax segments, enabling it to address the needs of customers on key global trade routes.

The company conducts its operations by chartering vessels on short‐term voyage charters and longer‐term period charters.