Zacks Research Upgrades Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) to Strong-Buy

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

GNK has been the topic of several other research reports. Alliance Global Partners restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.67.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

Genco Shipping & Trading stock opened at $25.43 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.00. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 66.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93. Genco Shipping & Trading has a one year low of $15.51 and a one year high of $27.25.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.19. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 2.49% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $114.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.28) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GNK. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 33.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 49,457 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 12,319 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 12.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,751 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,113,000 after buying an additional 25,002 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 56,860 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after buying an additional 29,098 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 286,568 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after acquiring an additional 102,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 135,166 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,048,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

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.