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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a research note published on Wednesday. The firm issued a sell rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of EGLE stock opened at $62.60 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.74. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.16 million. 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. purchased 69,635 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,461,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bulk Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $161,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 62.1% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 481.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping during the third quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $383,000. 70.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.