Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) Short Interest Up 25.3% in March

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESEA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 44,507 shares, an increase of 25.3% from the March 15th total of 35,519 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 105,937 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESEA. Commons Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Euroseas during the fourth quarter valued at about $563,000. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Euroseas in the third quarter worth about $219,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Euroseas in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Euroseas in the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Euroseas during the third quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Institutional investors own 6.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Euroseas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Euroseas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Euroseas Stock Up 0.3%

ESEA opened at $72.18 on Friday. Euroseas has a 12 month low of $28.22 and a 12 month high of $74.75. The company has a market cap of $505.98 million, a PE ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 4.89, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.87 and a 200 day moving average of $59.52.

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $4.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $57.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.83 million. Euroseas had a net margin of 60.11% and a return on equity of 27.82%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Euroseas will post 15.15 EPS for the current year.

Euroseas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Euroseas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Euroseas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.29%.

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.