Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) Shares Up 6% – Should You Buy?

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) rose 6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $79.00 and last traded at $78.2090. 7,377 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 63,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Euroseas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research lowered Euroseas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Euroseas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Euroseas in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Euroseas Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.35 and a 200-day moving average of $67.49. The company has a market cap of $549.24 million, a PE ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 5.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The shipping company reported $4.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $56.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.98 million. Euroseas had a return on equity of 27.49% and a net margin of 59.98%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Euroseas Ltd. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Euroseas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Euroseas’s payout ratio is 16.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Euroseas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESEA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Euroseas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Euroseas by 387.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Euroseas by 540.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,280 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Euroseas during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Euroseas during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.27% of the company’s stock.

Euroseas Company Profile

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) is an international shipping company specializing in seaborne transportation of containerized and drybulk cargoes. Incorporated in Bermuda with its principal operations and management office based in Athens, Greece, the company owns and charters a diversified fleet of containerships, drybulk carriers and multipurpose vessels. Euroseas provides tailored shipping solutions on time-charter and voyage-charter agreements, serving manufacturers, commodity traders and logistics providers across major trade routes.

Euroseas’s fleet comprises both owned and chartered tonnage, enabling the company to adjust capacity to market conditions and customer requirements.