Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

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

Diana Shipping Stock Performance

NYSE DSX opened at $2.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $333.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.51. Diana Shipping has a twelve month low of $1.57 and a twelve month high of $2.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Diana Shipping Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Diana Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DSX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diana Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Diana Shipping has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diana Shipping

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DSX. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Diana Shipping during the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Diana Shipping by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 70,879 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 28,384 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Diana Shipping by 407.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 80,684 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 64,784 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Diana Shipping by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 144,901 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 66,212 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Diana Shipping in the third quarter valued at $278,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.68% of the company’s stock.

Diana Shipping Company Profile

Diana Shipping Inc is a global shipping company incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and headquartered in Athens, Greece. The company specializes in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels that transport a variety of commodities, including coal, iron ore, grains, fertilizers, steel products and other bulk materials. Diana Shipping’s fleet comprises Panamax, Capesize, Newcastlemax and Supramax/Newcastlemax segments, enabling it to address the needs of customers on key global trade routes.

The company conducts its operations by chartering vessels on short?term voyage charters and longer?term period charters.