Genco Shipping & Trading’s (GNK) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $17.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on GNK. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Dnb Nor Markets raised Genco Shipping & Trading to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.75.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Up 0.3 %

GNK opened at $13.55 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.15 and its 200-day moving average is $14.41. Genco Shipping & Trading has a one year low of $11.20 and a one year high of $23.39. The company has a market capitalization of $582.09 million, a PE ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 3.09.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The shipping company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.02). Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $41.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.86%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $189,883.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,215.12. This represents a 19.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $125,416.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares in the company, valued at $631,703.96. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216 over the last three months. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GNK. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,921,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter worth $3,692,000. Townsend & Associates Inc increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 17.7% during the first quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,261,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,484,000 after buying an additional 190,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 629.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 218,067 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 188,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 173.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 282,603 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 179,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company 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.