Brokerages Set Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) Target Price at $56.75

Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Friday, January 26th. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Monday, February 26th. B. Riley upped their price target on Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Eagle Bulk Shipping in a report on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. acquired 69,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $62.65 per share, for a total transaction of $4,362,632.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,461,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,540,107.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Bulk Shipping

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EGLE. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 102.0% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 612 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the second quarter valued at $66,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 681.0% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. 70.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EGLE opened at $62.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $692.98 million, a PE ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $39.15 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.97.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $104.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.16 million. Eagle Bulk Shipping had a return on equity of 4.62% and a net margin of 5.77%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eagle Bulk Shipping will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Increases Dividend

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

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.