Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $27.25 and last traded at $26.72, with a volume of 103990 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.83. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.45 and a beta of 0.71.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $230.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 3.89%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 202.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $210,570.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 440,878 shares in the company, valued at $11,043,993.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,967,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,283,000 after acquiring an additional 539,567 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $20,204,000 after acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,391,000 after acquiring an additional 43,158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.