JP Morgan Gives the Thumbs Up to Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX), Shares Surge

Shares of Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) are in bull-mode on Friday, rising 12% after Noah Parquette of JP Morgan upgraded the equity to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’ and setting a $8 price target. Parquette is bullish due to his belief that the recovery in the sector is ‘real and can be sustained for some time’. Shares of Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) have been trending higher due to firmer shipping rates, and Parquette believes the rates have ‘plenty of runway’ to move higher.

Previously, the industry suffered from ship oversupply and the slowdown of the Chinese economy, which imports a substantial percentage of the world’s dry bulk commodities. With the Chinese economy improving somewhat, however, and sentiment improving in part due to the election of Donald Trump, shipping prices have firmed up, helping Diana’s fundamentals and outlook.

What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

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Hedge fund sentiment improved around Diana Shipping in the fourth quarter. Of the 742 elite funds we track, the number of top institutions long the stock rose by one quarter-over-quarter to 8, while the amount held by those institutions rose to $36.33 million at the end of December from $27.52 million at the end of September. Among the bulls was David Iben‘s Kopernik Global Investors, which raised its stake by 30% in Q4 to 5.59 million shares.

The Bottom Line

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) shares have surged 12% due to a Wall Street upgrade from JP Morgan. For more reading, check out ‘Busiest Shipping Ports in the World‘.

Disclosure:None

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