International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

International Seaways Inc. (NYSE:INSW)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $78.51 and last traded at $74.87, with a volume of 238382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.53.

INSW has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of International Seaways in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Seaways in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Pareto Securities upgraded International Seaways from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on International Seaways from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered International Seaways from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Seaways presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Insider Transactions at International Seaways

In related news, CEO Lois K. Zabrocky sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.96, for a total transaction of $127,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 178,421 shares in the company, valued at $11,411,807.16. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Pribor sold 1,000 shares of International Seaways stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.29, for a total value of $63,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,463 shares in the company, valued at $5,282,373.27. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $502,610. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Seaways

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 4,255.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 197,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 192,848 shares during the period. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in International Seaways in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,276,000. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of International Seaways by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 48,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,248,000 after buying an additional 23,674 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of International Seaways by 270.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,981 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 22,628 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 151.4% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 60,332 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after acquiring an additional 36,337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.29% of the company’s stock.

International Seaways Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of -0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.89 and a 200 day moving average of $52.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 3.71.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The transportation company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.70. International Seaways had a net margin of 36.67% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The business had revenue of $267.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that International Seaways Inc. will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

International Seaways Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. International Seaways’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.70%.

About International Seaways

International Seaways, Inc (NYSE: INSW) is an independent tanker company that provides seaborne transportation services to oil companies, commodity traders and national oil companies. The firm’s operations focus on the carriage of crude oil and refined petroleum products, offering both time­ charter and voyage­ charter arrangements. With a modern fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax and Aframax tankers, as well as medium range (MR) and Handy product tankers, International Seaways supports global energy supply chains across major trade routes.

Founded in 1997 as Diamond S Shipping, the company completed its initial public offering in the late 1990s and rebranded to International Seaways in September 2018.