Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Shares Acquired by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc increased its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK - Free Report) by 17.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,261,959 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 190,000 shares during the quarter. Genco Shipping & Trading comprises 1.6% of Townsend & Associates Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Townsend & Associates Inc owned about 2.94% of Genco Shipping & Trading worth $15,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter worth approximately $332,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 65,355 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 22,316 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 127,852 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 33,949 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc acquired a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter valued at $631,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,130 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 20,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Dnb Nor Markets raised Genco Shipping & Trading to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pareto Securities upgraded Genco Shipping & Trading to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genco Shipping & Trading has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

NYSE GNK traded up $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $13.95. 405,151 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 572,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $13.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.70. The firm has a market cap of $599.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.18. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a fifty-two week low of $11.20 and a fifty-two week high of $22.18.

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 return on equity of 4.22% and a net margin of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $41.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue was down 39.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Announces Dividend

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

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.