Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SBLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $26.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.72. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $16.21 and a 52-week high of $28.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,327. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 108,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,886,212.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 94.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 56,930 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,298,436 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $20,204,000 after acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 673.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 49,471 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 43,072 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,444,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.