Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK Shares Acquired by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,585,263 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 823,575 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 1.40% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $46,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 66,429 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 13,851 shares during the last quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 3.9% in the second quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 53,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 0.8% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66,333 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter worth $1,371,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 48.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 565,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,991,000 after buying an additional 184,837 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK traded up $0.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.30. 733,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,473,232. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.28. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $32.88.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. Equities analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 141.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eleni Vrettou sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total transaction of $112,420.00. Following the sale, the director owned 73,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,366,794.32. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charis Plakantonaki bought 3,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.27 per share, for a total transaction of $84,810.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 58,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,654.06. This represents a 5.38% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 170,400 shares of company stock worth $4,817,208 and sold 101,150 shares worth $3,106,795. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its cargoes include iron ore, grains, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other raw materials.

The company operates a diversified fleet of dry bulk carriers, including Capesize, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels. These ships serve international trade routes and transport commodities between producers, exporters and industrial customers across major global markets.

Star Bulk was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.