Short Interest in Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX) Grows By 31.8%

Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,276,730 shares, a growth of 31.8% from the January 15th total of 968,896 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 735,864 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 735,864 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DSX. R Squared Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Diana Shipping by 117.1% in the 2nd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 35,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 19,205 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new position in Diana Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diana Shipping by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 70,879 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 28,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Diana Shipping by 407.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 80,684 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 64,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.68% of the company’s stock.

Diana Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DSX opened at $2.42 on Wednesday. Diana Shipping has a 1 year low of $1.27 and a 1 year high of $2.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.82.

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The shipping company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. Diana Shipping had a return on equity of 4.93% and a net margin of 11.18%.The firm had revenue of $51.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.00 million.

Diana Shipping Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Diana Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DSX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diana Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Diana Shipping from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Diana Shipping has an average rating of “Sell”.

Diana Shipping Company Profile

Diana Shipping Inc is a global shipping company incorporated in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and headquartered in Athens, Greece. The company specializes in the ownership and operation of dry bulk vessels that transport a variety of commodities, including coal, iron ore, grains, fertilizers, steel products and other bulk materials. Diana Shipping’s fleet comprises Panamax, Capesize, Newcastlemax and Supramax/Newcastlemax segments, enabling it to address the needs of customers on key global trade routes.

The company conducts its operations by chartering vessels on short‐term voyage charters and longer‐term period charters.