Diana Shipping inc. $DSX Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Diana Shipping stake by 26.4% in the first quarter, purchasing 622,500 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 2.98 million shares, or 2.42% of the company.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 48.68%, with several other funds—including Goldman Sachs and Blue Trust—also increasing their positions.
• Diana Shipping reported quarterly EPS of $0.16, beating the $0.02 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $57.29 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX - Free Report) by 26.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,984,213 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 622,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 2.42% of Diana Shipping worth $7,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Diana Shipping during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Diana Shipping by 159.0% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,839 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 7,881 shares during the period. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $88,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diana Shipping by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 70,879 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 28,384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diana Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

Diana Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DSX opened at $2.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $309.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.38. Diana Shipping inc. has a 1-year low of $1.46 and a 1-year high of $2.91.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.14. Diana Shipping had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 27.88%.The business had revenue of $57.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.60 million.

Diana Shipping Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Diana Shipping's payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

About Diana Shipping

Diana Shipping Inc is a global shipping company incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and headquartered in Athens, Greece. The company specializes in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels that transport a variety of commodities, including coal, iron ore, grains, fertilizers, steel products and other bulk materials. Diana Shipping’s fleet comprises Panamax, Capesize, Newcastlemax and Supramax/Newcastlemax segments, enabling it to address the needs of customers on key global trade routes.

The company conducts its operations by chartering vessels on short‐term voyage charters and longer‐term period charters.

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