Danaos (NYSE:DAC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Danaos in a report on Tuesday.

Danaos Stock Performance

DAC traded down $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.29. 20,440 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,595. Danaos has a 1 year low of $66.45 and a 1 year high of $98.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.13.

Danaos (NYSE:DAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $6.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.86 by ($0.36). Danaos had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 56.16%. The business had revenue of $256.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Danaos will post 27.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaos Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Danaos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Danaos’s payout ratio is presently 11.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Danaos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Danaos by 88.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,961 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 8,897 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Danaos during the 1st quarter worth $1,484,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Danaos by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 9,506 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Danaos by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 591,001 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $42,647,000 after purchasing an additional 172,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Danaos by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 24,694 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.01% of the company’s stock.

About Danaos

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.