Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.72 and last traded at $28.7590, with a volume of 656245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 160.00%.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,716,327. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 98,103 shares of company stock worth $2,635,792 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 44.6% in the 3rd 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,283,000 after acquiring an additional 539,567 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,494,000 after acquiring an additional 237,248 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $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% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,391,000 after purchasing an additional 43,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.