Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (NYSE:ECO) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 345,080 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 514,283 shares.The stock last traded at $50.6160 and had previously closed at $51.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.05 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Okeanis Eco Tankers from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.35.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of -0.07.

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.48. Okeanis Eco Tankers had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The firm had revenue of $91.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.45 million. On average, analysts forecast that Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Okeanis Eco Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Okeanis Eco Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Okeanis Eco Tankers’s payout ratio is 165.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Okeanis Eco Tankers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Okeanis Eco Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $27,416,000. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Okeanis Eco Tankers by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 574,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,339,000 after purchasing an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at $18,696,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers by 5.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 443,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,987,000 after buying an additional 22,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Okeanis Eco Tankers during the 4th quarter worth $10,911,000.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

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.