Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,568 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 20,455 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.16% of Genco Shipping & Trading worth $969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 830.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,033 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 9,847 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares in the company, valued at $800,215.12. This trade represents a 19.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at $374,532.84. This represents a 18.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Up 1.7%

Genco Shipping & Trading stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.27. 649,818 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 547,499. The company has a market cap of $569.85 million, a P/E ratio of 7.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.17. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a twelve month low of $11.20 and a twelve month high of $22.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.15 and a 200-day moving average of $14.29.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The shipping company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.02). Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $41.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Genco Shipping & Trading's revenue for the quarter was down 39.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 4.28%. Genco Shipping & Trading's payout ratio is 57.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Dnb Nor Markets upgraded shares of Genco Shipping & Trading to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.75.

Genco Shipping & Trading Profile

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is an international ship owning company, which engages in the transportation of iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. It operates through the Major Bulk and Minor Bulk segments. The Major Bulk segment focuses on Capesize vessels. The Minor Bulk segment consists of Ultramax and Supramax vessels.