Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK Holdings Decreased by Oaktree Capital Management LP

Oaktree Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,962,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,267,635 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP owned about 1.67% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $36,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 267.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 50,359 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,664 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth about $361,000. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 826,628 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,367,000 after buying an additional 13,277 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 101.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 49,968 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBLK traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.01. The stock had a trading volume of 253,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,058. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 0.73. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.06 and a 52 week high of $27.20.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 3.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 202.74%.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.