Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 21,210 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,190,467 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,214,000 after buying an additional 12,001 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,071,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,318,000 after acquiring an additional 23,101 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 980,097 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,116,000 after purchasing an additional 11,151 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 597,860 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,334,000 after purchasing an additional 115,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 70.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,345,000 after purchasing an additional 219,907 shares during the period. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Genco Shipping & Trading Stock Performance

GNK stock opened at $13.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $562.05 million, a PE ratio of 7.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.55. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a 1-year low of $13.08 and a 1-year high of $23.43.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 18.06%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GNK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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.