Short Interest in Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) Declines By 45.8%

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) saw a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 16,243 shares, a drop of 45.8% from the June 30th total of 29,949 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 51,882 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Euroseas by 171.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 53,386 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 33,738 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Euroseas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,591,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Euroseas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $870,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Euroseas during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,136,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the 3rd quarter valued at $989,000. 6.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Euroseas Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESEA traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.28. 33,914 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 65,159. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 5.46 and a quick ratio of 5.38. Euroseas has a 52-week low of $48.89 and a 52-week high of $78.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.50.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The shipping company reported $4.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.44. Euroseas had a net margin of 58.31% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $55.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.61 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Euroseas will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Euroseas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Euroseas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Euroseas’s payout ratio is presently 16.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ESEA shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Euroseas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Euroseas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Euroseas in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Euroseas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Euroseas has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About Euroseas

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) is an international shipping company specializing in seaborne transportation of containerized and drybulk cargoes. Incorporated in Bermuda with its principal operations and management office based in Athens, Greece, the company owns and charters a diversified fleet of containerships, drybulk carriers and multipurpose vessels. Euroseas provides tailored shipping solutions on time-charter and voyage-charter agreements, serving manufacturers, commodity traders and logistics providers across major trade routes.

Euroseas’s fleet comprises both owned and chartered tonnage, enabling the company to adjust capacity to market conditions and customer requirements.