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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the shipping company’s stock.

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

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

EGLE stock remained flat at $62.60 during midday trading on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $39.15 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $692.98 million, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its earnings results 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. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 4.62% and a net margin of 5.77%. The company had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.16 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. bought 69,635 shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the insider now owns 1,461,135 shares in the company, valued at $91,540,107.75. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Bulk Shipping

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gratus Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 0.4% in the third quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 241,921 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Paradiem LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 67,921 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,855,000 after buying an additional 8,398 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 481.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 118.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 30,256 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 16,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 62.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.60% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Bulk Shipping

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.