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

Shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.75.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping from $52.20 to $63.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a "sell" rating on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Castor Maritime Inc. bought 69,635 shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.65 per share, with a total value of $4,362,632.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,461,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $91,540,107.75. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Bulk Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,496,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Eagle Bulk Shipping during the 1st quarter worth approximately $363,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,999 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 261,922 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eagle Bulk Shipping by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 542,395 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $36,942,000 after acquiring an additional 11,633 shares in the last quarter. 70.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Price Performance

EGLE stock remained flat at $62.60 during midday trading on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $60.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.40. Eagle Bulk Shipping has a twelve month low of $39.15 and a twelve month high of $65.09. The stock has a market cap of $692.98 million, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE - Get Free Report) 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.16 million. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Eagle Bulk Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Eagle Bulk Shipping's payout ratio is 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.