Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on SBLK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $22.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47 and a beta of 0.73. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12 month low of $12.06 and a 12 month high of $27.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.40 and its 200-day moving average is $20.55.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.51 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 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, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 202.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 44.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,446,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $101,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,036 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth $73,967,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 539,567 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,391,000 after purchasing an additional 43,158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.