Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a report released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the shipping company’s stock.

EGLE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BTIG Research reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 5th. 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 reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eagle Bulk Shipping presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

EGLE opened at $62.60 on Tuesday. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a 52-week low of $39.15 and a 52-week high of $65.09. 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 cap of $692.98 million, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.69.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a 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 is currently 156.86%.

Insider Transactions at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In other Eagle Bulk Shipping news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. bought 69,635 shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $62.65 per share, with a total value of $4,362,632.75. Following the purchase, the insider now directly 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 available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 612 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 681.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. 70.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.