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

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.14, Zacks reports. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.60 million.

Diana Shipping Stock Performance

Diana Shipping stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.78. 1,014,212 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 962,362. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.43. Diana Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $1.57 and a fifty-two week high of $2.91. The stock has a market cap of $345.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Diana Shipping Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DSX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diana Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diana Shipping

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Diana Shipping by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 190,774 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 60,430 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Diana Shipping by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 144,901 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 66,212 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Diana Shipping by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,361,713 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,920,000 after buying an additional 246,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. 48.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.