Short Interest in Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) Expands By 7.6%

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the July 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 738,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diana Shipping

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lesa Sroufe & Co lifted its position in Diana Shipping by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 679,021 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after buying an additional 40,343 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Diana Shipping by 197.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 403,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 268,337 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Diana Shipping by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 256,269 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diana Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at $385,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Diana Shipping in the second quarter valued at about $257,000. 48.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Diana Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Diana Shipping Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DSX traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $2.48. 243,089 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 685,232. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.22 million, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Diana Shipping has a 1 year low of $2.35 and a 1 year high of $3.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.89.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $54.38 million for the quarter. Diana Shipping had a return on equity of 5.34% and a net margin of 6.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diana Shipping will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Diana Shipping Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.10%. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.36%.

Diana Shipping Company Profile

Diana Shipping Inc provides shipping transportation services. The company transports a range of dry bulk cargoes, including commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials in shipping routes worldwide. As of March 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 38 dry bulk vessels, including 4 Newcastlemax, 8 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 9 Ultramax, and 6 Panamax.