Engineers Gate Manager LP Cuts Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its Star Bulk Carriers stake by 14.4% in the second quarter, selling 45,078 shares and retaining 268,029 shares valued at approximately $6.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 33.91% of SBLK.
• Analysts remain bullish, with the stock receiving an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $31.50. Star Bulk also exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.21 versus expectations of $0.95.
• Star Bulk increased its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, equivalent to a $3.60 annualized payout and an 11.5% yield, although its payout ratio stands at 141.18%. Recent insider activity was negative, with insiders selling 81,650 shares over three months.

Engineers Gate Manager LP decreased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,029 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 45,078 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned approximately 0.24% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $6,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 44.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,446,191 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $101,245,000 after buying an additional 1,681,036 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,283,000 after acquiring an additional 539,567 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $47,494,000 after acquiring an additional 237,248 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $19,391,000 after purchasing an additional 43,158 shares in 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 analysts have commented on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on 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 upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total transaction of $322,801.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 55,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,663,299.96. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Raffaele Zagari sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total value of $1,560,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,903,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,373,600. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 81,650 shares of company stock worth $2,488,635 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of SBLK opened at $31.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $32.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.45.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%. Equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is presently 141.18%.

Star Bulk Carriers Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its fleet serves the international supply chains for iron ore, grain, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other dry cargoes.

The company operates a diversified fleet that includes large Capesize and Newcastlemax vessels as well as Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax bulk carriers. Star Bulk's vessels serve customers and ports across major shipping routes worldwide, supporting commodity trade between producers, exporters and end markets.

Star Bulk Carriers was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece, with the company incorporated in the Marshall Islands.

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