Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Stock Price Up 2.9% – Time to Buy?

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)’s share price shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $13.63 and last traded at $13.54. 82,336 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 508,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GNK shares. StockNews.com downgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genco Shipping & Trading presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.27). Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.36 million. On average, analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.97%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genco Shipping & Trading news, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $86,914.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at $374,532.84. The trade was a 18.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 57,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,215.12. This represents a 19.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNK. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 24,566 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,001 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 57,506 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 42,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,136 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

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.