Aviva PLC Purchases New Holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE)

Aviva PLC purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,438 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 225.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 911 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors own 89.69% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Down 2.1 %

Eagle Bulk Shipping stock opened at $42.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.33. Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.16 and a 1-year high of $67.09.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $75.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.76 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 22.40%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.42%. This is an increase from Eagle Bulk Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Eagle Bulk Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 30.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping from $70.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Alliance Global Partners reduced their price objective on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com began coverage on Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $62.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.50.

Insider Activity at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In other news, Director Justin A. Knowles acquired 1,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.68 per share, with a total value of $64,786.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,020.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Justin A. Knowles acquired 1,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.68 per share, for a total transaction of $64,786.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,020.56. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary Vogel sold 6,503 shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction on Friday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.09, for a total value of $325,735.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,151 shares in the company, valued at $7,020,163.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 182,872 shares of company stock valued at $8,643,326. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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, cement, and forest products. It serves miners, producers, traders, and end users.