International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group upgraded International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) to a "strong-buy", supporting a consensus Buy rating and an average analyst price target of $81.00.
• The company posted a strong quarter—$2.45 EPS vs $1.75 expected and $267.9M revenue (up 37.7% YoY)—with a 36.67% net margin and analysts projecting about 9.73 EPS for the fiscal year.
• INSW shares opened at $79.60, near the 52-week high of $79.80, while insiders sold roughly 60,697 shares (~$4.52M) in the past 90 days and institutions own about 67.3% of the stock.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

INSW has been the subject of several other research reports. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of International Seaways from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of International Seaways from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Seaways from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of International Seaways from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of International Seaways in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.00.

International Seaways Price Performance

INSW stock opened at $79.60 on Friday. International Seaways has a 52 week low of $32.90 and a 52 week high of $79.80. The company has a quick ratio of 3.71, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of -0.23.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The transportation company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $267.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.29 million. International Seaways had a net margin of 36.67% and a return on equity of 13.92%. International Seaways's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that International Seaways will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO James D. Small III sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $1,507,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 36,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,741,659.12. This trade represents a 35.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Derek G. Solon sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.41, for a total transaction of $452,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 50,989 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,080.49. This represents a 10.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,697 shares of company stock worth $4,517,070 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in International Seaways by 121.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 687 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in International Seaways by 99.5% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 758 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in International Seaways in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in International Seaways in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in International Seaways by 583.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 963 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.29% of the company's stock.

About International Seaways

International Seaways, Inc NYSE: INSW is an independent tanker company that provides seaborne transportation services to oil companies, commodity traders and national oil companies. The firm’s operations focus on the carriage of crude oil and refined petroleum products, offering both time­ charter and voyage­ charter arrangements. With a modern fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax and Aframax tankers, as well as medium range (MR) and Handy product tankers, International Seaways supports global energy supply chains across major trade routes.

Founded in 1997 as Diamond S Shipping, the company completed its initial public offering in the late 1990s and rebranded to International Seaways in September 2018.

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