WINTON GROUP Ltd Lowers Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

WINTON GROUP Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 59.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 62,989 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $31.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.46. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $32.88.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total value of $322,801.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,663,299.96. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raffaele Zagari sold 50,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total value of $1,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,903,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,373,600. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,650 shares of company stock worth $2,488,635.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SBLK shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its fleet serves the international supply chains for iron ore, grain, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other dry cargoes.

The company operates a diversified fleet that includes large Capesize and Newcastlemax vessels as well as Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax bulk carriers. Star Bulk’s vessels serve customers and ports across major shipping routes worldwide, supporting commodity trade between producers, exporters and end markets.

Star Bulk Carriers was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece, with the company incorporated in the Marshall Islands.