Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SBLK. Wall Street Zen raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $24.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.18. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $14.26 and a one year high of $27.20.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%. Equities analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 202.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $210,570.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 440,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,043,993.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 56,930 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 2,748 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 673.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 49,471 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 43,072 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth $1,444,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.