Short Interest in Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHIP) Expands By 33.4%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 33.4% to 290,176 shares as of April 15, equal to about 1.5% of the stock and a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 1.5 days.
• Seanergy raised its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.20 (annualized $0.80), implying a 5.4% yield and an 80% payout ratio.
• Analysts are largely positive with a consensus "Buy" and an average price target of $17, supported by recent upgrades from Zacks and B. Riley.

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHIP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 290,176 shares, a growth of 33.4% from the March 31st total of 217,463 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 191,263 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stavros Gyftakis sold 3,570 shares of Seanergy Maritime stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.95, for a total value of $49,801.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 236,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,296,315.25. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seanergy Maritime

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHIP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Seanergy Maritime during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Seanergy Maritime in the third quarter valued at $85,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in Seanergy Maritime in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Seanergy Maritime during the fourth quarter worth $119,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Seanergy Maritime during the second quarter worth $124,000. 29.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SHIP shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Seanergy Maritime from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Seanergy Maritime from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Seanergy Maritime from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Seanergy Maritime in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Seanergy Maritime in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Seanergy Maritime currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $17.00.

Seanergy Maritime Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of Seanergy Maritime stock opened at $14.89 on Wednesday. Seanergy Maritime has a 52-week low of $5.37 and a 52-week high of $15.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.20 million, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company's fifty day moving average price is $13.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.03.

Seanergy Maritime Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Seanergy Maritime's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. Seanergy Maritime's dividend payout ratio is 80.00%.

Seanergy Maritime Company Profile

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. NASDAQ: SHIP is a dry bulk shipping company that provides seaborne transportation services for major commodities, including iron ore, coal and grain. The company's operations encompass both time charter and voyage charter contracts, enabling customers to secure vessel capacity on either a fixed-rate or spot basis. Its client base includes commodity producers, trading houses and industrial end users seeking global logistics solutions for bulk materials.

The company's core assets consist of a fleet of modern dry bulk carriers, spanning Capesize, Panamax and Supramax classes.

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.