Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Okeanis Eco Tankers hit a new 52-week high of $57.49 (last $57.31) on Tuesday, with a market cap of $2.22 billion and 50-/200-day moving averages near $50.21 and $41.41 respectively.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.55 (annualized $6.20), a roughly 10.9% yield, but the payout ratio is an elevated 165.8%, raising questions about sustainability.
• Analysts are mixed (three Buys, three Holds) with an average "Moderate Buy" and $43.35 target, while the company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.78 vs. $1.30) though revenue missed consensus and full-year EPS is projected around 4.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $57.49 and last traded at $57.3080, with a volume of 155142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECO. Wall Street Zen raised Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $46.05 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $50.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.41.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $91.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.45 million. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 26.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Okeanis Eco Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Okeanis Eco Tankers's payout ratio is presently 165.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ECO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 150,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 54,528 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $613,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 46,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 5,558 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 132,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,880,000 after purchasing an additional 10,016 shares in the last quarter.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, publicly traded shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of eco-design product tankers. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ECO” in May 2019 following an initial public offering. It focuses on the acquisition of newbuilding medium-range (MR) and long-range (LR) product tankers designed to deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

As of its public listing, Okeanis Eco Tankers' fleet comprises twelve eco-efficient vessels built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.

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