Royce & Associates LP Acquires 115,173 Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 597,860 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,173 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading were worth $8,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNK. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 535.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,266 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 830.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,033 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 9,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the third quarter valued at $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Genco Shipping & Trading

In other Genco Shipping & Trading news, insider Jesper Christensen sold 13,602 shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $189,883.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,215.12. The trade was a 19.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,812 shares of company stock valued at $402,216. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GNK. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading stock opened at $13.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $588.56 million, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.70. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a 1 year low of $13.36 and a 1 year high of $23.43.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $67.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.36 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.72%. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Genco Shipping & Trading Company 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.