Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 712,600 shares, a growth of 13.4% from the October 15th total of 628,200 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 435,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Down 0.8 %

GNK stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $17.52. 131,625 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 585,255. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 1 year low of $14.02 and a 1 year high of $23.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.27. The stock has a market cap of $749.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The shipping company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.41. Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $99.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. Genco Shipping & Trading’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.13%. This is a boost from Genco Shipping & Trading’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GNK. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,050,030 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $22,376,000 after acquiring an additional 419,730 shares during the period. Elevatus Welath Management bought a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,850,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 219,907 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 694.2% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 239,213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,098,000 after acquiring an additional 209,093 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,096,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,372,000 after acquiring an additional 154,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GNK shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.20.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ocean transportation of drybulk cargoes worldwide. The company owns and operates dry bulk vessels to transports iron ore, grains, coal, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. It charters its vessels primarily to trading houses, including commodities traders; producers; and government-owned entities.