Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 13.7% in March to 1,018,256 shares (about 2.4% of the float) with a days-to-cover of 1.3.
• Senior insiders sold stock on Feb. 23 (CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,340 shares; CFO Peter George Allen sold 13,315 shares), part of 55,824 insider shares sold over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with 2.08% ownership.
• Genco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 (annualized $2.00), implying a yield of about 9.0%, up from the prior $0.15 quarterly payout.

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,018,256 shares, a decline of 13.7% from the February 26th total of 1,179,344 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 756,078 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,744.73. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 13,315 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $315,032.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 66,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,169.32. This trade represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,824 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,949. Insiders own 2.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 34,970 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,942 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 125,535 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 11.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,695 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Genco Shipping & Trading from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Alliance Global Partners cut Genco Shipping & Trading from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of GNK opened at $22.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.32. The stock has a market cap of $957.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -200.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.14. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 12 month low of $11.20 and a 12 month high of $24.81.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The shipping company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $109.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.52 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a negative return on equity of 0.12% and a negative net margin of 1.28%.The company's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.0%. This is a positive change from Genco Shipping & Trading's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,818.18%.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company Profile

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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