Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 65,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 22,316 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 535.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,266 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 830.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,033 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 9,847 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the third quarter worth $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Genco Shipping & Trading

In related news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 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 transaction of $189,883.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,215.12. This represents a 19.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 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 $125,416.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares in the company, valued at $631,703.96. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Genco Shipping & Trading has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Up 1.6 %

GNK opened at $14.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $598.83 million, a P/E ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a 52 week low of $13.36 and a 52 week high of $23.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.67.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.36 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 7.82%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Genco Shipping & Trading Profile

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.