Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SBLK. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $24.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. Star Bulk Carriers has a fifty-two week low of $13.99 and a fifty-two week high of $27.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11 and a beta of 0.78.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 3.89%. The firm had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.51 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 202.74%.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of Star Bulk Carriers 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 440,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,043,993.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 94.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 56,930 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in the first 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 worth $20,204,000 after purchasing an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 2.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 673.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 49,471 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 43,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter worth $1,444,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.