Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK Stock Holdings Increased by Impala Asset Management LLC

Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 39.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 47,000 shares during the quarter. Star Bulk Carriers makes up about 2.0% of Impala Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Impala Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $3,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at about $73,967,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter valued at about $64,949,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,205,000 after buying an additional 682,406 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,283,000 after buying an additional 539,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 670.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 604,686 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $11,622,000 after buying an additional 526,203 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK stock opened at $27.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.16. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $16.21 and a 52 week high of $28.50. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 118.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,716,327. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 108,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,886,212. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.