We recently published a list of 11 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Invest in Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) stands against other best marine shipping stocks to invest in now.
According to Dr. Shashi Kumar of the US Naval Institute, geopolitical developments tend to have a greater impact on the highly volatile shipping market compared to market forces. Since the 2007–08 financial crisis, the broader global shipping market continues to face a series of new challenges. However, the challenging conditions this industry faced in 2024 were unmatched over the past decade and a half, says Kumar. The year’s challenging conditions included the prolonged war in Ukraine, wanton Houthi attacks in the Red Sea as well as increased tensions in the South China Sea. Kumar also noted that container ships decided to avoid the Suez Canal and chose to transport goods around southern Africa, which increased transit time and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, the owners of these container ships saw a profitable year.
The marine vessels market is expected to reach US$133.63 billion by 2030 from US$111.10 billion in 2024, as per Research and Markets. While global trade continues to fuel the demand for different types of ships, the military navy growth has also been lending support to expand the market. Notably, the requirement for larger and more versatile vessels stems from the demand for efficient transportation of goods. Also, increasing passenger and tourism needs continue to fuel fleet expansion and technology upgrades.
The firm believes that several cruise lines have been adding more ships to cater to the needs of travelers focusing on unique experiences. Overall, the strategic fleet renewal remains critical for market improvement. New and fuel-efficient vessels have been supporting to meet environmental standards and lower costs, says Research and Markets. The transition towards sustainable shipping practices continues to become more critical to obey the international rules targeting reduced emissions.
Research and Markets believes that cargo vessels continue to become a critical part of commercial shipping. Such vessels tend to play a vital role in global trade by transporting numerous goods across the seas. With the demand for faster and more reliable shipping increasing, the broader industry remains focused on adopting new technologies. Notably, modern navigation systems, eco-friendly fuels, and automation tend to enhance efficiency, improve safety, and reduce the environmental impact. Therefore, as global trade has been expanding, cargo vessels remain critical when it comes to international commerce and economic growth.
To list the 11 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Invest in Now, we used a screener to shortlist the companies catering to the broader marine shipping industry. Next, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiments around each stock, as of Q4 2024. Finally, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiments.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Is Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (GNK) the Best Marine Shipping Stock to Invest in Now?
A close-up of a large cargo vessel in the open sea, its sails billowing in the wind.
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24
Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) is engaged in the ocean transportation of drybulk cargoes. The company’s CEO, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, stated that it is prepared to pass on the costs to the US exporters or position the ships elsewhere in case the proposed fees on the Chinese ships come into play. Overall, Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) believes that the company remains well-prepared if Trump moves forward with the fees to counter China’s maritime dominance. The strategy seems to have provided a sigh of relief to the investors.
Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) has made significant progress in renewing its fleet, divesting older, non-core assets near market highs, while, at the same time, strategically redeploying proceeds in a bid to capitalize on attractive growth opportunities. At the time of announcing its Q4 2024 results, Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) highlighted that it has invested $134 million to replace smaller and less fuel-efficient vessels with modern, high-specification Capesizes. This has increased its investments in the fleet since 2021 to $283 million and has further expanded its earnings power. The fleet-wide TCE for the full year rose 29%, demonstrating the robust 2024 drybulk market as well as its sustained outperformance versus the benchmarks.
Overall, GNK ranks 4th on our list of best marine shipping stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the potential of GNK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than GNK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
