American Century Companies Inc. Buys 111,564 Shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,361,597 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,564 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.18% of Genco Shipping & Trading worth $18,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GNK. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,136 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Genco Shipping & Trading during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,156 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,411 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GNK shares. StockNews.com cut Genco Shipping & Trading from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Genco Shipping & Trading from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance

Genco Shipping & Trading stock opened at $13.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $572.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.18 and its 200-day moving average is $15.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited has a 12 month low of $13.08 and a 12 month high of $23.43.

Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $67.95 million for 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Genco Shipping & Trading Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Genco Shipping & Trading’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Joseph Adamo sold 6,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.96, for a total value of $86,914.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,532.84. This trade represents a 18.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Peter George Allen sold 8,984 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,703.96. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,812 shares of company stock worth $402,216 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.