Analysts Set Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) Price Target at $56.75

Shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.75.

EGLE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley upped their target price on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Alliance Global Partners restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Price Performance

NASDAQ:EGLE opened at $62.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $692.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a twelve month low of $39.15 and a twelve month high of $65.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $104.59 million for 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In related news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. purchased 69,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $62.65 per share, with a total value of $4,362,632.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 1,461,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,540,107.75. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bulk Shipping

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,160 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.0% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 102.0% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 612 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 0.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 324 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.