Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) Short Interest Up 74.3% in April

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 137,085 shares, a growth of 74.3% from the April 15th total of 78,662 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 413,407 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Okeanis Eco Tankers from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Clarkson Capital downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.02.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Performance

NYSE:ECO opened at $54.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.23. Okeanis Eco Tankers has a 1 year low of $21.27 and a 1 year high of $58.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.09.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.59. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a return on equity of 37.13% and a net margin of 41.26%.The firm had revenue of $170.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.02 million. On average, analysts expect that Okeanis Eco Tankers will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. This is an increase from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.7%. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is 141.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 2.6% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the first quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the second quarter worth $25,000.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, publicly traded shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of eco-design product tankers. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ECO” in May 2019 following an initial public offering. It focuses on the acquisition of newbuilding medium-range (MR) and long-range (LR) product tankers designed to deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

As of its public listing, Okeanis Eco Tankers’ fleet comprises twelve eco-efficient vessels built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.