Dryships company overview and operations

Dryships

In the world of investing, there are a number of different stocks to choose from. A tool that is often used to help screen for the right companies is to carefully examine: the management of the company and the products that it offers in relation to the stock price. In the case of Dryships (NYSE: DRYS), their management and the products that they sell play a direct role in determining what the price of the stock will be. ("Dryships Inc.," 2010) it is through examining the company; in this light that will provide the greatest insights into their overall business model.

Headquarters

Dryships is headquartered in Amaroussion, Greece; with the company being founded in 2004. The key officers of the company would include: George Economou, Ziad Nakhleh and Pankaj Khanna. George Economou has worked as the CEO of the company since it was founded. He is a member of: Intertanko Hellenic Shipping Forum, ABS Council and Lloyds Register Hellenic Advisory Committee. Ziad Nakhleh is the CFO of the company. He joined Dryships from Aegean Marine Petroleum, where he helped to take the company public in 2006. Pankaj Khanna is the COO of the company. He was appointed to the position in March, 2009. Prior to working at Dryships, Khanna worked with: Excel Marine, Alba Maritime Services and Teekay Corporation. There are currently 403 full time employees that work at the company. ("Dryships Inc.," 2010)

Products

Dryships, transports dry bulk goods to China to include: oil, iron ore and coal. ("Dryships," 2010) However, as the world economy slowed meant that the company would see a sharp reduction in their earnings. To address this issue the company changed the overall marketing / business strategy. Where, they have begun diversifying in other areas such as oil and natural gas drilling. An example of this can be seen by looking no further than the 30% stake that the company owns in Ocean Rig. This is: a Norwegian company that is involved in the deep see exploration for oil and natural gas reserves. The idea of changing strategies is to provide the company with more earnings stability and an additional way that it can market various products or services. The company was also wrestling with a revolving debt issue last year, which helped push management to diversify. (Eden, 2009) the current price of the stock is $5.43. It has a high of $11.48 and a low of $2.72. There are currently 254 million shares outstanding, with a float of 229 million shares. The company is no longer paying a dividend. However, between 2005 and 2008 they were paying a consistent dividend of $.80. The company first went public in 2005. ("Dryships,"2010)