Is It Safe To Hang On To Or Buy Greek Shippers Like Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX) And Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. (TNP) As Crisis Deepens?

Given the financial turmoil in Greece as the country has said no to deeper austerity measures being imposed on it by creditors in a resounding vote today, there is fear over how the situation will impact many of the Greece-based shipping container companies, who could be forced to up and leave the country (and have threatened to do so, if the Greek government removes some of its concessions for the industry amid its economic crisis). Is it a good time to get out of these stocks as a result? It’s an interesting questions, as although prospects for the shipping industry predominantly look glum as well, amid a supply glut of container ships, according to a recent survey by the London-based law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, maritime transporters of oil products have seen the strongest activity for the first half of the year since 2009. In fact, a very recent example of the smart money interest in the industry is the activity of Joel Ramin‘s 12 West Capital Management. The fund acquired some 427,900 shares of Diana Containerships Inc (NASDAQ:DCIX), taking its total stake to 19.29 million shares. The holding represents about 26.1% of  the company’s outstanding stock. Other companies in the segment manifesting increased demand from investors include Costamare Inc (NYSE:CMRE), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), and Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. (NYSE:TNP). Let us take a closer look at them and the hedge funds that have cashed in on their success.

First let’s consider the uptrend in Costamare Inc (NYSE:CMRE). The $1.38 billion company’s stock appreciated by almost 5% in the first half of the year, even though the shares are down by nearly 23% over the last year. The Greece-based company has a fleet of 67 containerships that it charters to liner companies. Among the funds that we track, James Dinan‘s York Capital Management is the largest stockholder of the company with 1.5 million shares valued at $26.42 million. Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX)’s stock has appreciated by about 8.5% so far this year while being down by more than 35% over the past year. 12 West Capital Management and Tiger Veda, which is managed by Manish Chopra is the largest shareholder of Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) within our database, with respective holdings of 3.27 million shares valued at $15.83 million and 5.59 million shares valued at $15.83 million.