International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

International Seaways Inc. (NYSE:INSW)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $123.95 and last traded at $124.8670, with a volume of 33,310 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $119.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on INSW. Zacks Research raised International Seaways from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on International Seaways from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings raised International Seaways from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on International Seaways from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on International Seaways from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Seaways has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.80.

International Seaways Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of -0.14. The company has a current ratio of 5.94, a quick ratio of 5.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.37 and a 200-day moving average of $90.31.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The transportation company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.36. International Seaways had a return on equity of 31.75% and a net margin of 61.98%. The firm had revenue of $467.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 138.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Seaways Inc. will post 17.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Seaways Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $5.05 per share. This represents a $20.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.2%. This is a positive change from International Seaways’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. International Seaways’s dividend payout ratio is presently 129.16%.

Insider Activity at International Seaways

In other news, CEO Lois Zabrocky sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.01, for a total transaction of $216,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 171,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,550,177.45. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Seaways

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in International Seaways in the 3rd quarter worth about $347,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Seaways by 9.2% in the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,459 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 16.0% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 6,766 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 9.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 24.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after buying an additional 6,932 shares during the last quarter. 67.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About International Seaways

International Seaways, Inc (NYSE: INSW) is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates oceangoing tankers. The company transports crude oil, refined petroleum products and other liquid cargoes for energy producers, commodity traders, refiners and other customers worldwide.

Its fleet includes crude-oil tankers serving major international trade routes, as well as product tankers used to move gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products. International Seaways employs a combination of time-charter, voyage-charter and pool arrangements to market its vessels and provide transportation services.

International Seaways was established in 2016 through the separation of the international tanker business from Overseas Shipholding Group.