Short Interest in Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) Expands By 9.7%

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 1,240,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 696,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DSX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Diana Shipping during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diana Shipping during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diana Shipping during the fourth quarter valued at about $100,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Diana Shipping by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,759 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 6,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diana Shipping during the fourth quarter valued at about $376,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.68% of the company’s stock.

Diana Shipping Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of DSX stock traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $2.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 446,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,183. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Diana Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $2.81 and a fifty-two week high of $4.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.88.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $56.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.02 million. Diana Shipping had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Research analysts anticipate that Diana Shipping will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Diana Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 69.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Diana Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

About Diana Shipping

Diana Shipping Inc provides shipping transportation services. The company transports a range of dry bulk cargoes, including commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials in shipping routes worldwide. As of March 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 38 dry bulk vessels, including 4 Newcastlemax, 8 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 9 Ultramax, and 6 Panamax.