Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,552,051 shares, a growth of 61.2% from the August 15th total of 1,582,824 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,094,568 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diana Shipping

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DSX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Diana Shipping by 586.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 484,951 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 414,280 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Diana Shipping by 26.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,984,213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 622,500 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping in the first quarter valued at $1,509,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping during the second quarter valued at $763,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Diana Shipping by 37,938.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 252,577 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 251,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DSX. Wall Street Zen raised Diana Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diana Shipping presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Diana Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of DSX stock opened at $3.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $382.57 million, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.51. Diana Shipping has a 1 year low of $1.57 and a 1 year high of $3.10.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.14. Diana Shipping had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 27.88%.The company had revenue of $57.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.60 million.

Diana Shipping Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

About Diana Shipping

Diana Shipping Inc (NYSE: DSX) is a global shipping company that owns and operates dry bulk vessels. Its fleet transports major commodities, including iron ore, grain, and coal, as well as other dry bulk cargoes used in international trade.

The company’s vessels primarily operate under time charter and voyage charter arrangements with customers around the world. Diana Shipping serves a broad range of international trade routes, connecting commodity producers, exporters, and importers across the major shipping regions.

Founded in 1999, Diana Shipping is headquartered in Athens, Greece, and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2005.