Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Short Interest Update

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a growth of 37.7% from the February 13th total of 864,100 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 548,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Down 1.6 %

GNK traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.65. 73,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 511,406. The stock has a market cap of $583.65 million, a P/E ratio of 7.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. Genco Shipping & Trading has a twelve month low of $13.36 and a twelve month high of $23.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 3.09.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.36 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. Equities analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is 68.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Genco Shipping & Trading currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Insider Transactions at Genco Shipping & Trading

In other news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $189,883.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,215.12. This trade represents a 19.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $86,914.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,532.84. This represents a 18.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter valued at $3,692,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,345,000 after purchasing an additional 219,907 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 173.3% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 282,603 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 179,216 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after buying an additional 173,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 482,687 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,412,000 after buying an additional 145,471 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is an international ship owning company, which engages in the transportation of iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. The company was founded on September 27, 2004 and is headquartered in New York, NY.