Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SHIP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Seanergy Maritime in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Seanergy Maritime from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

Seanergy Maritime Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SHIP opened at $15.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $332.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Seanergy Maritime has a fifty-two week low of $7.21 and a fifty-two week high of $18.48.

Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. Seanergy Maritime had a net margin of 30.68% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $55.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Seanergy Maritime will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christina Anagnostara sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total value of $257,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 178,239 shares in the company, valued at $3,063,928.41. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seanergy Maritime

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Seanergy Maritime by 512.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 86,566 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 72,423 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Seanergy Maritime during the 2nd quarter worth about $124,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Seanergy Maritime by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Seanergy Maritime by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,467 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 15,991 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Seanergy Maritime in the 3rd quarter valued at about $345,000. 29.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Seanergy Maritime Company Profile

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) is a dry bulk shipping company that provides seaborne transportation services for major commodities, including iron ore, coal and grain. The company’s operations encompass both time charter and voyage charter contracts, enabling customers to secure vessel capacity on either a fixed-rate or spot basis. Its client base includes commodity producers, trading houses and industrial end users seeking global logistics solutions for bulk materials.

The company’s core assets consist of a fleet of modern dry bulk carriers, spanning Capesize, Panamax and Supramax classes.