Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Diana Shipping Price Performance

DSX stock opened at $2.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.38. Diana Shipping has a 52-week low of $1.46 and a 52-week high of $2.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $57.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.60 million. Diana Shipping had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 27.88%.

Diana Shipping Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Diana Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diana Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diana Shipping in the first quarter worth about $1,509,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Diana Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $775,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Diana Shipping by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 668,660 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 20,943 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diana Shipping by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,942 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Diana Shipping in the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. 48.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diana Shipping Company Profile

Diana Shipping Inc is a global shipping company incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and headquartered in Athens, Greece. The company specializes in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels that transport a variety of commodities, including coal, iron ore, grains, fertilizers, steel products and other bulk materials. Diana Shipping’s fleet comprises Panamax, Capesize, Newcastlemax and Supramax/Newcastlemax segments, enabling it to address the needs of customers on key global trade routes.

The company conducts its operations by chartering vessels on short‐term voyage charters and longer‐term period charters.