Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Trading 7.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) shares shot up 7.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $54.00 and last traded at $53.51. 129,099 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 484,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECO has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $57.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Clarkson Capital lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Okeanis Eco Tankers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.89.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Up 6.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41 and a beta of -0.05.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 $170.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.02 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is a positive change from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.0%. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 141.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,541,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 96.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 278,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 136,782 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 29,762.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 69,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the first quarter worth $778,000.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

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.