Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Genco an average rating of "Hold" (three holds, two buys) with a one-year consensus price target of $21.00, below the recent share price of $25.73.
• Genco reported a strong quarter, posting EPS of $0.26 vs. $0.07 expected and revenue of $114.43M (up 60.6% year-over-year), beating estimates on both measures.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (annualized $1.40) for a 5.4% yield, but the payout ratio is an elevated 526%, signalling the dividend may be unsustainable.

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on GNK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Alliance Global Partners cut shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research report on Friday.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

GNK traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.73. The company had a trading volume of 27,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 67.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.97. Genco Shipping & Trading has a twelve month low of $12.66 and a twelve month high of $26.15. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $23.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.49.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.19. Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.28) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Genco Shipping & Trading's payout ratio is currently 526.32%.

Insider Activity at Genco Shipping & Trading

In related news, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.67, for a total transaction of $150,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 38,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,744.73. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 13,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $315,032.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 66,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,578,169.32. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,824 shares of company stock worth $1,313,949. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 4.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,611,227 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $28,680,000 after buying an additional 62,030 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,276,311 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $25,373,000 after buying an additional 8,488 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 863,101 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,385,000 after buying an additional 26,326 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,707 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,799,000 after buying an additional 96,703 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 543,290 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,013,000 after buying an additional 272,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company's stock.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The company's fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Genco's focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions.

In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety.

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