Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Okeanis Eco Tankers shares jumped 5.1%, opening at $96.86 versus a prior close of $93.11, and last traded near $97.86.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: B. Riley raised its target to $100 with a Buy rating, while the broader consensus is Hold with a $67.85 price target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $5.91, beating estimates by $1.30, and increased its quarterly dividend to $5.25 per share, implying a 21.5% annualized yield.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $93.11, but opened at $96.86. Okeanis Eco Tankers shares last traded at $97.8610, with a volume of 129,469 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECO. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Okeanis Eco Tankers from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Okeanis Eco Tankers has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.85.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Up 5.1%

The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a current ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 4.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.89.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.61 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $268.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.28 million. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 56.92% and a return on equity of 62.06%. As a group, analysts forecast that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $5.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Okeanis Eco Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. This represents a $21.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 21.5%. Okeanis Eco Tankers's payout ratio is 195.90%.

Insider Transactions at Okeanis Eco Tankers

In other news, Director Financial Lp Qvt sold 68,420 shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.99, for a total value of $4,104,515.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,347,038 shares in the company, valued at $80,808,809.62. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Institutional Trading of Okeanis Eco Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECO. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,506,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 96.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 278,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 136,782 shares in the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,541,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,185,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,416,000.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates a fleet of modern, fuel-efficient crude oil tankers. The company focuses primarily on large crude carriers, including very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, which transport crude oil between major production and refining regions around the world.

Through its vessels and associated commercial and technical management activities, Okeanis Eco Tankers provides seaborne transportation services to customers in the global energy industry.

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