Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,456 Shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping were worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $10,168,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 62.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 17,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 70.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Price Performance

Shares of EGLE opened at $62.60 on Wednesday. The stock 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.15 and a 52 week high of $65.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.66 and a 200-day moving average of $54.80.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its quarterly 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. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 4.62% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm had revenue of $104.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.16 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In other Eagle Bulk Shipping news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. purchased 69,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EGLE. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 26th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of 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 reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Bulk Shipping has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

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.