Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ECO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Clarkson Capital downgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Pareto Securities cut Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $57.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.52.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of ECO opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.89 and a 200 day moving average of $51.09. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 5.86 and a beta of -0.15. Okeanis Eco Tankers has a 52-week low of $25.00 and a 52-week high of $64.26.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $1.30. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 56.92% and a return on equity of 62.06%. The business had revenue of $268.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.28 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Okeanis Eco Tankers will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $5.25 per share. This is a boost from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $21.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 33.4%. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during 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.