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

Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. B. Riley raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to 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 NASDAQ EGLE opened at $62.60 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $692.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a one year low of $39.15 and a one year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $104.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.16 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 4.62% and a net margin of 5.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. bought 69,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,160 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing 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 raised its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 102.0% during 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 0.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. 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.