Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stock Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 430.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,307 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,997 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.06% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $1,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,536 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 20,001 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,695 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,902 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,399 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $27.67 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.27. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $16.72 and a 52 week high of $29.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.0%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $147,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 400,875 shares in the company, valued at $11,825,812.50. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $539,200.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 108,103 shares of company stock worth $2,928,242 in the last ninety days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SBLK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source