Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.35 and last traded at $13.29, with a volume of 24668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GNK. StockNews.com lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $562.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.20 and a 200-day moving average of $15.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $125,416.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $86,914.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,532.84. This trade represents a 18.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GNK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 70.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,345,000 after buying an additional 219,907 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 173,270 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 499.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 103,387 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 86,147 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 65,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 22,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc raised its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,071,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,318,000 after purchasing an additional 23,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

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.