Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Short Interest Up 37.7% in February

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a growth of 37.7% from the February 13th total of 864,100 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 548,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Genco Shipping & Trading Trading Down 0.0 %

GNK traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.90. 570,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,113. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.72. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1-year low of $13.36 and a 1-year high of $23.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $594.12 million, a PE ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.27). Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.36 million. Equities analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.64%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $125,416.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $189,883.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,215.12. This trade represents a 19.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GNK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter worth about $3,692,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,345,000 after purchasing an additional 219,907 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 173.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 282,603 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 179,216 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,559,000 after purchasing an additional 173,270 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 482,687 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,412,000 after purchasing an additional 145,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is an international ship owning company, which engages in the transportation of iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. The company was founded on September 27, 2004 and is headquartered in New York, NY.