Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Alliance Global Partners reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Monday, February 26th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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 Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $692.98 million, a PE ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.76. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a 1-year low of $39.15 and a 1-year high of $65.09.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.16 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 4.62%. On average, analysts predict 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 Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $62.65 per share, with a total value of $4,362,632.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,461,135 shares in the company, valued at $91,540,107.75. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bulk Shipping

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised 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 purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.0% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 102.0% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 612 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.60% of the company’s stock.

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.