Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Trading Down 4.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) were down 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $48.35 and last traded at $48.5650. Approximately 426,043 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 505,944 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ECO. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.05 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of -0.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.26.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $91.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.45 million. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 26.63%. On average, research analysts forecast that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is an increase from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 150,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 54,528 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 2nd quarter worth $613,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 46,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 5,558 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 8.2% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 132,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,880,000 after acquiring an additional 10,016 shares during the last quarter.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. is a Marshall Islands–incorporated, publicly traded shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of eco-design product tankers. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ECO” in May 2019 following an initial public offering. It focuses on the acquisition of newbuilding medium-range (MR) and long-range (LR) product tankers designed to deliver enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

As of its public listing, Okeanis Eco Tankers’ fleet comprises twelve eco-efficient vessels built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.