Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd Takes Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at $648,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 463,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,904,000 after purchasing an additional 74,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,240 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 110,801 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 635,394 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,212,000 after purchasing an additional 201,272 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $142,450.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 362,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,335,459.75. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 88,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,347,012 over the last 90 days.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 2.2%

SBLK opened at $26.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.21 and a 12-month high of $28.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.40%.

Star Bulk Carriers Profile

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.