Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $29.90 and last traded at $29.8670, with a volume of 364215 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.05.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on SBLK. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.95, for a total value of $313,383.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,928,156.85. This represents a 13.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $539,200.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 75,825 shares of company stock valued at $2,106,184 over the last ninety days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth approximately $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 807,751 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth approximately $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,205,000 after buying an additional 682,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 0.1%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.53. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.43%.

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.