StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE)

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

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EGLE. B. Riley boosted their target price on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. 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 report on Friday, January 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

EGLE stock opened at $62.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a 1-year low of $39.15 and a 1-year high of $65.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.51. The company 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 (NASDAQ:EGLE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 4.62%. Research analysts anticipate that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Eagle Bulk Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Eagle Bulk Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 156.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. acquired 69,635 shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.65 per share, for a total transaction of $4,362,632.75. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,461,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,540,107.75. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4,753.7% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,279 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16,923 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 167,004 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,110 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 16,420 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 10.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 17,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at $383,000. 70.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.