Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up, opening at $50.95 versus a prior close of $48.50 and last trading around $51.19, reflecting about a 5.4% intraday gain.
• Analysts are mixed but tilted positive — multiple upgrades recently left a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $43.35, which is below the current trading level.
• Okeanis raised its quarterly dividend to $1.55 (annualized $6.20), yielding 12.1%, but the payout ratio is very high at 165.78%, suggesting the dividend may be unsustainably large.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $48.50, but opened at $50.95. Okeanis Eco Tankers shares last traded at $51.1860, with a volume of 40,002 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ECO shares. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $46.05 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Up 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of -0.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $47.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $91.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.45 million. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 26.63%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.1%. This is a positive change from Okeanis Eco Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Okeanis Eco Tankers's dividend payout ratio is 165.78%.

Institutional Trading of Okeanis Eco Tankers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECO. Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,024,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 443,695 shares of the company's stock worth $12,987,000 after buying an additional 22,906 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $344,000. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 65,987 shares of the company's stock worth $1,931,000 after buying an additional 15,671 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,756,000.

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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