Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

GNK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.67.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

NYSE:GNK opened at $25.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.41. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1 year low of $15.51 and a 1 year high of $27.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.05. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.88, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.93.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.19. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 2.49% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business had revenue of $114.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.28) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 60.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is currently 368.42%.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 34,970 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 125,535 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 230.1% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 58.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 3.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 43,605 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The company’s fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Genco’s focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions.

In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety.