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

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the shipping company’s stock.

EGLE has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. B. Riley lifted 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. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 target price (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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eagle Bulk Shipping currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of EGLE stock opened at $62.60 on Wednesday. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a 12-month low of $39.15 and a 12-month high of $65.09. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.53. The stock 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 (NASDAQ:EGLE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.38. The firm 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eagle Bulk Shipping

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

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bulk Shipping

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EGLE. Paradiem LLC raised its stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 126.5% in the fourth quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 153,872 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,525,000 after buying an additional 85,951 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,077,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the third quarter worth approximately $2,156,000. Ballast Asset Management LP bought a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the third quarter worth approximately $1,128,000. Finally, Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,048,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.60% of the company’s stock.

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.