Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

SBLK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $24.45 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $13.37 and a 52-week high of $27.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.99.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its quarterly 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. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.51 million. Analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. 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 (DPR) is currently 202.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $210,570.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 440,878 shares in the company, valued at $11,043,993.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.