Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) Short Interest Up 37.7% in February

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a growth of 37.7% from the February 13th total of 864,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 548,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total transaction of $125,416.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,703.96. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $86,914.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,532.84. The trade was a 18.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genco Shipping & Trading

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,692,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 70.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,345,000 after purchasing an additional 219,907 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 173.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 282,603 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,940,000 after buying an additional 179,216 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 155.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,091 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,559,000 after buying an additional 173,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 43.1% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 482,687 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,412,000 after buying an additional 145,471 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock traded down $0.01 on Monday, reaching $13.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 570,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,113. The company has a market capitalization of $594.12 million, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. Genco Shipping & Trading has a 52-week low of $13.36 and a 52-week high of $23.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.27). Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.36 million. Analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s payout ratio is 68.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

About Genco Shipping & Trading

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is an international ship owning company, which engages in the transportation of iron ore, coal, grain, steel products, and other drybulk cargoes. The company was founded on September 27, 2004 and is headquartered in New York, NY.