Short Interest in Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) Grows By 25.3%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 25.3% to 44,507 shares as of March 31, equal to about 1.4% of the company's shares and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.4.
• Dividend increased — the quarterly payout was raised to $0.75 (annualized $3.00), implying a ~4.2% yield and a low payout ratio of 15.29%.
• Euroseas reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter (beating estimates), with a 60.11% net margin and 27.82% ROE; shares trade near a 12‑month high at $71.94, with a P/E of 3.67 and market cap of about $504M.

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 44,507 shares, an increase of 25.3% from the March 15th total of 35,519 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 105,937 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Euroseas Stock Up 1.5%

ESEA traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.94. The company had a trading volume of 37,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,776. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 4.89 and a quick ratio of 4.82. Euroseas has a 12 month low of $28.22 and a 12 month high of $72.86. The business's fifty day moving average price is $64.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.35. The company has a market cap of $504.26 million, a P/E ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $4.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.01. Euroseas had a net margin of 60.11% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm had revenue of $57.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.83 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Euroseas will post 15.15 EPS for the current year.

Euroseas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from Euroseas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Euroseas's payout ratio is presently 15.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESEA. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Euroseas by 1,611.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the second quarter worth $226,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the second quarter worth $260,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the second quarter worth $870,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the second quarter worth $259,000. Institutional investors own 6.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESEA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Euroseas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Euroseas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Euroseas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.00.

About Euroseas

Euroseas Ltd. NASDAQ: ESEA is an international shipping company specializing in seaborne transportation of containerized and drybulk cargoes. Incorporated in Bermuda with its principal operations and management office based in Athens, Greece, the company owns and charters a diversified fleet of containerships, drybulk carriers and multipurpose vessels. Euroseas provides tailored shipping solutions on time-charter and voyage-charter agreements, serving manufacturers, commodity traders and logistics providers across major trade routes.

Euroseas’s fleet comprises both owned and chartered tonnage, enabling the company to adjust capacity to market conditions and customer requirements.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.