Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE – Get Rating) by 54.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,057 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping were worth $3,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,413 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,589,000 after purchasing an additional 185,277 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 542,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $36,942,000 after acquiring an additional 11,633 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 501,597 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,659,000 after acquiring an additional 55,486 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 309,938 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after buying an additional 166,080 shares during the period. Finally, Gratus Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 236,575 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $11,815,000 after buying an additional 12,771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Bulk Shipping news, Director Justin A. Knowles acquired 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $47.27 per share, with a total value of $80,359.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,151.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Alliance Global Partners dropped their target price on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Bulk Shipping has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EGLE opened at $43.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $593.78 million, a P/E ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.28. Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.13 and a 52-week high of $78.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The shipping company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $108.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.08 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 24.29% and a net margin of 30.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 16th. Eagle Bulk Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.26%.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Company Profile

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Eagle Bulk Shipping, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes through the ownership, charter, and operation of dry bulk vessels. The company was founded by Sophocles N. Zoullas on March 23, 2005 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.