Another Choppy Day for Dry-Bulk Shippers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's another choppy day for dry-bulk shippers. DryShips (DRYS), Genco Shipping & Trading (GNK), Diana Shipping (DSX) and Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) each saw losses over Friday.

The industry was selling off after dry-bulk shipping rates fell again overnight. The Baltic Dry Index, which measures activity along the world's major shipping routes, saw a 25-point decrease to 1,246.

Capesize shipping rates, the measure for vehicles which can carry 150,000 metric tons of cargo or higher, fell 5.1% to $11,128 a day.

By early afternoon, DryShips had plummeted 7.4% to $3.49, Genco unloaded 6.4% to $2.33, Diana Shipping took off 5.6% to $11.85, and Navios dropped 5.5% to $18.03. TheStreet Ratings team rates NAVIOS MARITIME PARTNERS LP as a Buy with a ratings score of B+. The team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate NAVIOS MARITIME PARTNERS LP (NMM) a BUY. This is driven by several positive factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Compared to its closing price of one year ago, NMM's share price has jumped by 36.38%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, NMM should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year. The gross profit margin for NAVIOS MARITIME PARTNERS LP is currently very high, coming in at 91.87%. Regardless of NMM's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, NMM's net profit margin of 28.17% significantly outperformed against the industry. Despite currently having a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, it is higher than that of the industry average, inferring that management of debt levels may need to be evaluated further. Even though the debt-to-equity ratio shows mixed results, the company's quick ratio of 5.74 is very high and demonstrates very strong liquidity. NMM, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 9.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 16.1%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share. NAVIOS MARITIME PARTNERS LP's earnings per share declined by 45.9% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, NAVIOS MARITIME PARTNERS LP increased its bottom line by earning $1.64 versus $1.19 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 48.8% in earnings ($0.84 versus $1.64). You can view the full analysis from the report here: NMM Ratings Report

Stock quotes in this article: NMM, DRYS, DSX, GNK 

TheStreet Ratings team rates DRYSHIPS INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. The team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate DRYSHIPS INC (DRYS) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed -- some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, generally higher debt management risk and disappointing return on equity."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: DRYS's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 9.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 17.8%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share. Compared to its closing price of one year ago, DRYS's share price has jumped by 97.52%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year. The gross profit margin for DRYSHIPS INC is rather high; currently it is at 55.52%. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of -15.77% is in-line with the industry average. Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. Compared to other companies in the Marine industry and the overall market, DRYSHIPS INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. Net operating cash flow has decreased to $48.85 million or 40.58% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower. You can view the full analysis from the report here: DRYS Ratings Report

Stock quotes in this article: NMM, DRYS, DSX, GNK 

TheStreet Ratings team rates GENCO SHIPPING & TRADING as a Sell with a ratings score of D. The team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate GENCO SHIPPING & TRADING (GNK) a SELL. This is driven by several weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Currently the debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63 is quite high overall and when compared to the industry average, suggesting that the current management of debt levels should be re-evaluated. Along with this, the company manages to maintain a quick ratio of 0.09, which clearly demonstrates the inability to cover short-term cash needs. Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. Compared to other companies in the Marine industry and the overall market, GENCO SHIPPING & TRADING's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. GNK's stock share price has done very poorly compared to where it was a year ago: Despite any rallies, the net result is that it is down by 30.88%, which is also worse that the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now. GENCO SHIPPING & TRADING has improved earnings per share by 10.0% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, GENCO SHIPPING & TRADING swung to a loss, reporting -$3.48 versus $0.72 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 0.6% in earnings (-$3.50 versus -$3.48). The company, on the basis of net income growth from the same quarter one year ago, has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and greatly underperformed compared to the Marine industry average. The net income increased by 8.8% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from -$38.42 million to -$35.03 million. You can view the full analysis from the report here: GNK Ratings Report

Stock quotes in this article: NMM, DRYS, DSX, GNK 

TheStreet Ratings team rates DIANA SHIPPING INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. The team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate DIANA SHIPPING INC (DSX) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed -- some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including feeble growth in the company's earnings per share, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Compared to its closing price of one year ago, DSX's share price has jumped by 56.97%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year. The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.32, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. 35.22% is the gross profit margin for DIANA SHIPPING INC which we consider to be strong. Despite the high profit margin, it has decreased significantly from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, DSX's net profit margin of -7.58% significantly underperformed when compared to the industry average. DIANA SHIPPING INC has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share have declined over the last two years. We anticipate that this should continue in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, DIANA SHIPPING INC reported lower earnings of $0.67 versus $1.33 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 129.8% in earnings (-$0.20 versus $0.67). The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Marine industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 125.9% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $12.29 million to -$3.18 million. You can view the full analysis from the report here: DSX Ratings Report

Stock quotes in this article: NMM, DRYS, DSX, GNK