Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $38.90, but opened at $37.69. Okeanis Eco Tankers shares last traded at $37.85, with a volume of 351,116 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in a report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised Okeanis Eco Tankers to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.23 and its 200-day moving average is $30.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.05.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $90.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.29 million. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 21.92%. Analysts anticipate that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.0%. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is 125.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 56.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 150,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 54,528 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 108.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 420,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,144,000 after purchasing an additional 218,717 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the second quarter worth about $613,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 5,558 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Okeanis Eco Tankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Company Profile

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.