Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have 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 cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $22.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.50. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year 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 has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 0.73.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.10. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,096,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,505,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,808,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 807,751 shares during the period. Finally, Manatuck Hill Partners LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC now owns 203,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares during the period. 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.