Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a research report released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a hold rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 5th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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 Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $692.98 million, a PE ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.66. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a twelve month low of $39.15 and a twelve month high of $65.09.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.16 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 4.62% and a net margin of 5.77%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Eagle Bulk Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Eagle Bulk Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 156.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. purchased 69,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $62.65 per share, with a total value of $4,362,632.75. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,461,135 shares in the company, valued at $91,540,107.75. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bulk Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $161,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 481.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the third quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 10.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,067 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.