The Michael Bodouroglou-led company was paying an 18% dividend yield at the time of the measure, based upon a share price of $6.65 and an annual payout of $1.20.
Outsized dividends can be a powerful lure to yield-starved investors in today’s markets but also a warning sign, in some cases, that the dividend may not be sustainable in the long term.
The GHS survey covers some 600 industrial listings, although it is not clear how many of that number actually pay dividends.
While Box Ships leads this week’s top 25, there are also seven other shipowners in the ranks — Diana Containerships (third on 14%), Navios Maritime Partners (fourth on 12%), SafeBulkers (sixth on 9%), Costmare Inc (11th on 9%), Navios Maritime Holdings (14th on 7%), Seaspan Corp (20th on 6%) and Baltic Trading Ltd (24th on 5%).
While many owners have been forced to eliminate dividends altogether given covenant woes and other balance-sheet issues, this group has managed to keep them alive even if share prices have suffered along with most shipping stocks.
The surge in Box Ships’s yield stems from a recent drop in its share price. The owner was trading around $8.20 before it announced on 13 July that it had sold $30m-worth of stock to fund fleet growth at $7 per share. The share slid below $7 following the disclosure.
Box Ships is carrying a “buy” rating from GHS equity analyst Natasha Boyden, who has praised the owner’s ability to grow in a tough market.
