Danaos (NYSE:DAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Danaos (NYSE:DAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Danaos in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Danaos Stock Up 1.2%

DAC stock opened at $86.65 on Wednesday. Danaos has a 12 month low of $65.40 and a 12 month high of $98.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Danaos (NYSE:DAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The shipping company reported $6.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.29). Danaos had a net margin of 49.81% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The business had revenue of $253.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Danaos will post 29.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaos Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Danaos’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.12%.

Danaos announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, April 14th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaos

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Danaos by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its position in shares of Danaos by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 23,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its position in shares of Danaos by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,135 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Danaos by 7,700.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 390 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaos in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.01% of the company’s stock.

Danaos Company Profile

Danaos Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides container and drybulk vessels services in Australia, Asia, and Europe. The company offers seaborne transportation services by operating vessels in the containership and drybulk sectors of the shipping industry. As of April 03, 2024, it had a fleet of 68 containerships aggregating 421,293 twenty-foot equivalent units in capacity.