Diana Shipping Smashes Q4 Earnings Estimates; Shares Up 15.6%

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) reported stronger-than-expected Q4 results, topping both earnings and revenue estimates. Shares of the global shipping company gained 15.6% on February 25, after the results were announced.

Q4 Beat

Adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share massively beat analysts’ expectations of $0.22 per share. Further, the EPS was far superior to the reported loss of $0.10 per share for the prior-year period.

Similarly, revenues jumped 13% year-over-year to $68.8 million, and exceeded consensus estimates of $61.1 million.

The increase in revenues reflected a surge in Time Charter revenues, which increased to $68.8 million driven by increased average time charter rates achieved for the vessels during the quarter, partly offset by decreased revenues due to decreased ownership days resulting from the sale of vessels.

Dividends

Concurrent with earnings, the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share. The dividend is payable on March 21 to shareholders on record as of March 9.

Wall Street’s Take

Following the robust Q4 result, H.C. Wainwright analyst Magnus Fyhr reiterated a Buy rating on Diana Shipping with the price target of $9.50 (100% upside potential).

Overall, DSX has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 2 Buys and 1 Hold. The average Diana Shipping stock forecast of $7.47 implies 57.26% upside potential to current levels. Shares have jumped 79.9% over the past year.

TipRanks’ Smart Score

DSX scores an 8 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.

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