Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK Shares Sold by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC decreased its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 65.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,081 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 26,539 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at $187,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth about $11,096,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth about $2,505,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,808,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 807,751 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $142,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 362,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,335,459.75. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 108,103 shares of company stock worth $2,886,212 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.6%

SBLK stock opened at $24.81 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.73. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.72 and a fifty-two week high of $28.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

About Star Bulk Carriers

Star Bulk Carriers Corp is a global shipping company engaged in the ocean transport of dry bulk commodities. The company owns and operates a diversified fleet of bulk carriers, including Handymax, Supramax, Panamax and Capesize vessels. Its ships are designed to carry a broad range of cargoes, such as iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite and phosphate, catering to industrial and agricultural customers worldwide.

The company’s vessels operate on major trade routes across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, connecting producers and consumers in Asia, Europe, North and South America.