Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on EGLE. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Monday, February 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EGLE opened at $62.60 on Tuesday. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $39.15 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $692.98 million, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $104.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.16 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 4.62%. Equities analysts expect that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. purchased 69,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $62.65 per share, for a total transaction of $4,362,632.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,461,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bulk Shipping

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EGLE. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 1,342.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 251,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $11,452,000 after acquiring an additional 234,245 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 793.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 167,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,669,000 after buying an additional 148,400 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,027 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,176,000 after buying an additional 106,469 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 153,872 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,525,000 after buying an additional 85,951 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 153.1% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 127,851 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 77,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Company Profile

Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. The company owns, charters, and operates dry bulk vessels that transport a range of bulk cargoes, including iron ore, coal, grains, fertilizers, steel products, petcoke, and cement. It serves miners, producers, traders, and end users.