Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd Makes New Investment in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 25,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SBLK. Zacks Research raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 2.2%

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $26.72 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.73. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $16.21 and a one year high of $28.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 118.40%.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 88,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,347,012.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.