Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

ECO has been the topic of several other research reports. Clarkson Capital raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE ECO opened at $50.46 on Monday. Okeanis Eco Tankers has a 12-month low of $21.27 and a 12-month high of $57.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.28.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.48. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The company had revenue of $91.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.45 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Okeanis Eco Tankers will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 165.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,024,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 5.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 443,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,987,000 after buying an additional 22,906 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $344,000. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 58.6% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $362,000.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

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.