Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $26.98 on Monday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1-year low of $16.21 and a 1-year high of $28.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 160.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $539,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $10,716,327. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 108,103 shares of company stock worth $2,886,212 over the last three months.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $73,967,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter worth approximately $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter valued at $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 807,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter valued at $17,398,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.