Fearnley Asset Management AS Acquires Shares of 577,316 Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 577,316 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,096,000. Star Bulk Carriers makes up approximately 5.1% of Fearnley Asset Management AS’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,967,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,949,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 807,751 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,205,000 after acquiring an additional 682,406 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,283,000 after purchasing an additional 539,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $25.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.39. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $16.21 and a 1 year high of $28.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Star Bulk Carriers

In related news, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,327. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 108,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,886,212 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.