International Seaways Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:INSW)

International Seaways Inc. (NYSE:INSW) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 68,090 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 4,284% compared to the average volume of 1,553 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lois K. Zabrocky sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total value of $196,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 173,745 shares in the company, valued at $17,103,457.80. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Pribor sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.68, for a total value of $81,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 101,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,330,053.12. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,000 shares of company stock valued at $441,240. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Seaways

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INSW. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in International Seaways by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 51,034 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 18,996 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Seaways in the second quarter valued at $219,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of International Seaways by 43.8% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 13,375 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,075 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of International Seaways in the second quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Seaways by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,164 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.29% of the company’s stock.

International Seaways Stock Up 0.8%

INSW traded up $0.80 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.61. 644,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 577,295. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of -0.13. International Seaways has a twelve month low of $42.26 and a twelve month high of $106.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 5.76 and a current ratio of 5.94.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The transportation company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.36. International Seaways had a net margin of 61.98% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The company had revenue of $467.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 138.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that International Seaways will post 16.09 EPS for the current year.

International Seaways Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $5.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $20.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.3%. This is an increase from International Seaways’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. International Seaways’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on INSW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of International Seaways in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of International Seaways from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Pareto Securities lowered shares of International Seaways from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of International Seaways from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of International Seaways from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.75.

International Seaways Company Profile

International Seaways, Inc (NYSE: INSW) is an independent tanker company that provides seaborne transportation services to oil companies, commodity traders and national oil companies. The firm’s operations focus on the carriage of crude oil and refined petroleum products, offering both time­ charter and voyage­ charter arrangements. With a modern fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax and Aframax tankers, as well as medium range (MR) and Handy product tankers, International Seaways supports global energy supply chains across major trade routes.

Founded in 1997 as Diamond S Shipping, the company completed its initial public offering in the late 1990s and rebranded to International Seaways in September 2018.