Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) Trading Up 7.7% Following Strong Earnings

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA)’s share price rose 7.7% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $77.80 and last traded at $76.6650. Approximately 14,242 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 64,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.20.

The shipping company reported $4.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.16. Euroseas had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 60.11%.

Euroseas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Euroseas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Euroseas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESEA shares. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Euroseas in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Euroseas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Institutional Trading of Euroseas

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESEA. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Euroseas by 4.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 100,765 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,736,000 after acquiring an additional 4,087 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Euroseas by 171.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 53,386 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,915,000 after acquiring an additional 33,738 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Euroseas by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 35,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Euroseas by 144.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 26,576 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 15,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Euroseas in the 1st quarter worth $1,591,000. Institutional investors own 6.27% of the company’s stock.

Euroseas Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a current ratio of 4.89. The company has a market cap of $539.17 million, a PE ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.46 and its 200 day moving average is $61.62.

Euroseas Company Profile

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.