Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating and set 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 reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, B. Riley upped 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

EGLE stock opened at $62.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $692.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.83. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a one year low of $39.15 and a one year high of $65.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.16 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 4.62%. Equities analysts anticipate that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. bought 69,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $62.65 per share, for a total transaction of $4,362,632.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,461,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,540,107.75. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bulk Shipping

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4,753.7% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,279 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16,923 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 167,004 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,110 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 30,256 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 16,420 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 6,082 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 10.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,067 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. 70.60% of the stock is 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.