Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Eagle Bulk Shipping worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Paradiem LLC increased its position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping by 126.5% during the fourth quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 153,872 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,525,000 after acquiring an additional 85,951 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping during the third quarter worth approximately $2,156,000. Ballast Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,128,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4,753.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,279 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 16,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $625,000. 70.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EGLE. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research note on Friday, January 26th. B. Riley upped their price target on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.75.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

NASDAQ EGLE opened at $62.60 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $62.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.80. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.15 and a 12-month high of $65.09.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.38. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 4.62%. The business had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.16 million. Research analysts expect that Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Eagle Bulk Shipping

In other Eagle Bulk Shipping news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. purchased 69,635 shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.