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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Monday, February 26th. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Noble Financial reiterated a market perform rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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 given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Bulk Shipping has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock opened at $62.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.74 and its 200-day moving average is $50.30. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $688.55 million, a PE ratio of 40.65 and a beta of 1.49. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a 12-month low of $39.15 and a 12-month high of $65.09.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Eagle Bulk Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Eagle Bulk Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 156.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,160 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 0.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,440 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 70.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.