International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded International Seaways (NYSE: INSW) from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to a generally positive analyst tone. The stock now carries a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $83.50.
• Recent earnings were significantly stronger than expected, with the company reporting $3.90 EPS versus $2.87 expected and revenue of $325.48 million versus $279.34 million estimated. Revenue rose 77.5% year over year, and the company posted a net margin of 55.39%.
• INSW has seen insider selling and mixed institutional activity, including recent sales by the CEO and a director. At the same time, institutional investors still own 67.29% of the stock, suggesting continued broad market interest.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

INSW has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of International Seaways from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Pareto Securities downgraded shares of International Seaways from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of International Seaways from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of International Seaways from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Seaways from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Seaways has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.50.

International Seaways Price Performance

Shares of INSW opened at $76.81 on Wednesday. International Seaways has a fifty-two week low of $35.60 and a fifty-two week high of $92.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.02. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99 and a beta of -0.09. The company has a quick ratio of 7.28, a current ratio of 7.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The transportation company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $1.03. International Seaways had a net margin of 55.39% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The firm had revenue of $325.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 77.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that International Seaways will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Seaways news, Director Alexandra Kate Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.88, for a total value of $374,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,749.44. This represents a 32.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lois K. Zabrocky sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.23, for a total transaction of $168,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 179,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,139,921.35. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,227 shares of company stock worth $7,781,495. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in International Seaways by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 638,791 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $31,013,000 after purchasing an additional 12,188 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in International Seaways during the 4th quarter worth $1,404,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in International Seaways during the 4th quarter worth $910,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in International Seaways by 123.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,276 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 18,935 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in International Seaways during the 4th quarter worth $709,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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