Townsend & Associates Inc Buys 23,101 Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)

Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,071,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,101 shares during the period. Genco Shipping & Trading accounts for about 1.6% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Townsend & Associates Inc owned approximately 2.51% of Genco Shipping & Trading worth $15,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNK. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 535.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,266 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 830.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,033 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,847 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

NYSE:GNK opened at $14.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $605.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $23.43.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $67.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.36 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 7.82%. On average, analysts anticipate that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.48%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.43%.

Genco Shipping & Trading Profile

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.