Danaos (NYSE:DAC) Earns "Buy" Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Danaos (DAC) with a price target of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.11% from the current stock price.
• Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Danaos from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, reflecting differing analyst opinions on the stock's performance.
• Danaos has also announced a $100 million stock buyback program, suggesting that management believes the company’s shares may be undervalued.

Danaos (NYSE:DAC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $105.00 target price on the shipping company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.33% from the company's current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Danaos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Danaos Price Performance

Shares of Danaos stock traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $94.31. 55,545 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,676. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.95. Danaos has a 1-year low of $65.40 and a 1-year high of $96.47. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Danaos (NYSE:DAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The shipping company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.52 by ($0.16). Danaos had a net margin of 44.62% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $262.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.26 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Danaos will post 29.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaos announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 14th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Danaos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Danaos by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 566,050 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $45,324,000 after purchasing an additional 183,050 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Danaos during the 4th quarter worth about $3,736,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Danaos by 183.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 46,215 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,921 shares during the period. Hi Line Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Danaos during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,481,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Danaos during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.01% of the company's stock.

Danaos Company Profile

Danaos Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides container and drybulk vessels services in Australia, Asia, and Europe. The company offers seaborne transportation services by operating vessels in the containership and drybulk sectors of the shipping industry. As of April 03, 2024, it had a fleet of 68 containerships aggregating 421,293 twenty-foot equivalent units in capacity.