Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.39 and last traded at $26.1850, with a volume of 71379 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GNK. Alliance Global Partners lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genco Shipping & Trading has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.67.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 67.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.78.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.73 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 2.49% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.28) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is presently 526.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 13,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $315,032.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 66,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,169.32. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.67, for a total value of $150,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,744.73. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,824 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,949. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GNK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 68.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 22,007 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 29.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 8,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 49.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 296,188 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,957,000 after purchasing an additional 97,766 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 59.5% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 17,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 6,660 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 15.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,983 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the period. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The company’s fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Genco’s focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions.

In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety.