Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BTIG Research restated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated 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 price target (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Friday, January 26th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Bulk Shipping presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of EGLE stock opened at $62.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.97. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $692.98 million, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $39.15 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.38. The company 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%. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Eagle Bulk Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Eagle Bulk Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 156.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Bulk Shipping news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. acquired 69,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $62.65 per share, with a total value of $4,362,632.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,461,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,540,107.75. The transaction 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 Trading of Eagle Bulk Shipping

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EGLE. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 1,342.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 251,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,452,000 after purchasing an additional 234,245 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 793.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 167,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,669,000 after acquiring an additional 148,400 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,027 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,176,000 after acquiring an additional 106,469 shares in the last quarter. Paradiem LLC grew its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 153,872 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,525,000 after acquiring an additional 85,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 153.1% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 127,851 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 77,338 shares in the last quarter. 70.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.