Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) Short Interest Up 183.5% in May

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 504,968 shares, an increase of 183.5% from the May 14th total of 178,101 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 598,612 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Clarkson Capital downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Okeanis Eco Tankers from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Pareto Securities downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $57.50 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, May 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Okeanis Eco Tankers presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.89.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of NYSE ECO traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.34. 198,500 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 482,235. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of -0.05. Okeanis Eco Tankers has a one year low of $21.27 and a one year high of $58.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.59. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a return on equity of 37.13% and a net margin of 41.26%.The firm had revenue of $170.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.02 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Okeanis Eco Tankers will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a $2.00 dividend. This is an increase from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 141.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECO. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter worth $27,416,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter worth $18,696,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter worth $10,911,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter worth $5,222,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 96.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 278,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 136,782 shares during the last quarter.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Company Profile

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, publicly traded shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of eco-design product tankers. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ECO” in May 2019 following an initial public offering. It focuses on the acquisition of newbuilding medium-range (MR) and long-range (LR) product tankers designed to deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

As of its public listing, Okeanis Eco Tankers’ fleet comprises twelve eco-efficient vessels built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.