Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 323,570 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 497,259 shares.The stock last traded at $51.3180 and had previously closed at $49.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ECO shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.05 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of -0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.81.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $91.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.45 million. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 26.63%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a boost from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 165.78%.

Institutional Trading of Okeanis Eco Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $358,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,696,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $664,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,984,000.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Company Profile

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, publicly traded shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of eco-design product tankers. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ECO” in May 2019 following an initial public offering. It focuses on the acquisition of newbuilding medium-range (MR) and long-range (LR) product tankers designed to deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

As of its public listing, Okeanis Eco Tankers’ fleet comprises twelve eco-efficient vessels built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.