Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $31.03 and last traded at $31.12, with a volume of 844622 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.91. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $147,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 400,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,825,812.50. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total value of $322,801.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 55,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,663,299.96. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 56,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,610,285 over the last three months.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at about $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 807,751 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth about $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 682,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.