Brokerages Set International Seaways Inc. (NYSE:INSW) PT at $68.00

International Seaways Inc. (NYSE:INSW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of International Seaways from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised International Seaways from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of International Seaways in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Pareto Securities raised International Seaways from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised International Seaways from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday.

International Seaways Price Performance

International Seaways stock opened at $70.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of -0.23. International Seaways has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $78.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.71, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The transportation company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.70. International Seaways had a net margin of 36.67% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The firm had revenue of $267.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that International Seaways will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Seaways Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. International Seaways’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.70%.

Insider Transactions at International Seaways

In other International Seaways news, SVP Derek G. Solon sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.41, for a total value of $452,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 50,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,080.49. This represents a 10.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO James D. Small III sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $1,507,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,376 shares in the company, valued at $2,741,659.12. This represents a 35.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,697 shares of company stock worth $4,459,450 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Seaways

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of INSW. Amundi purchased a new stake in International Seaways in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,663,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Seaways by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 709,036 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,866,000 after purchasing an additional 216,325 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Seaways by 4,255.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 197,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 192,848 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of International Seaways by 9.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,855,110 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,674,000 after purchasing an additional 159,125 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of International Seaways in the fourth quarter valued at $7,087,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.29% of the company’s stock.

About International Seaways

International Seaways, Inc (NYSE: INSW) is an independent tanker company that provides seaborne transportation services to oil companies, commodity traders and national oil companies. The firm’s operations focus on the carriage of crude oil and refined petroleum products, offering both time­ charter and voyage­ charter arrangements. With a modern fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax and Aframax tankers, as well as medium range (MR) and Handy product tankers, International Seaways supports global energy supply chains across major trade routes.

Founded in 1997 as Diamond S Shipping, the company completed its initial public offering in the late 1990s and rebranded to International Seaways in September 2018.