Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Euroseas in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Euroseas Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of ESEA stock opened at $68.74 on Friday. Euroseas has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $69.48. The company has a quick ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.23 and a 200-day moving average of $58.27. The company has a market capitalization of $481.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.81.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $4.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.01. Euroseas had a net margin of 60.11% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The firm had revenue of $57.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Euroseas will post 15.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Euroseas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Euroseas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Euroseas’s dividend payout ratio is 14.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Euroseas during the second quarter worth $45,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Euroseas during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Euroseas by 540.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,280 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Euroseas by 1,611.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. 6.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Euroseas

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) is an international shipping company specializing in seaborne transportation of containerized and drybulk cargoes. Incorporated in Bermuda with its principal operations and management office based in Athens, Greece, the company owns and charters a diversified fleet of containerships, drybulk carriers and multipurpose vessels. Euroseas provides tailored shipping solutions on time-charter and voyage-charter agreements, serving manufacturers, commodity traders and logistics providers across major trade routes.

Euroseas’s fleet comprises both owned and chartered tonnage, enabling the company to adjust capacity to market conditions and customer requirements.