Stock Watch: Major ship owner sails into dangerous waters; Tanker firm's shares soar with oil prices; warning flags fly.(Stocks)(Column)

Crain's New York Business, October, 2004 by Elstein, Aaron

Byline: aaron elstein Overseas shipholding Group Inc. has hit a gusher. Thanks to the huge jump in oil prices and the highest tanker rates in three decades, the company made more money in the first half of this year than it did in all of 2003, which itself was a record year for profits. Its share price has responded accordingly, soaring 62% so far this year and far outstripping the 25% increase posted by the Dow Jones Marine Transport Index.

On Friday, OSG shares closed at $55.19. Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this-which means that now is the time to sell the stock. Even Wall Street's brigade of ordinarily optimistic analysts is betting on rougher waters ahead, predicting that OSG's earnings will dip 18% next year on an expected 12% drop in...

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