Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Position in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 7,374 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.09% of Eagle Bulk Shipping worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EGLE. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 481.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the third quarter worth about $286,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the 4th quarter worth approximately $383,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the fourth quarter valued at $617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.60% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock opened at $62.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.15 and a 12 month high of $65.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.36. The firm has a market cap of $692.98 million, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. purchased 69,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $62.65 per share, for a total transaction of $4,362,632.75. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,461,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGLE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.75.

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.