Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK Shares Sold by Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC

Key Points

• Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC cut its Star Bulk Carriers stake by 48.6% in the first quarter, leaving it with 64,390 shares valued at about $1.48 million.
• Analysts remain mixed but mostly constructive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.50. Recent moves included Jefferies raising its target to $31 and Deutsche Bank reaffirming a $32 target.
• Star Bulk Carriers increased its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share from $0.37, implying an annualized payout of $2.00 and a 7.6% yield, though the payout ratio is high at 160%.

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC decreased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 48.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,390 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 60,987 shares during the quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC owned about 0.06% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,446,191 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $101,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,036 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,967,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $40,283,000 after acquiring an additional 539,567 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $19,391,000 after acquiring an additional 43,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of 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 shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insider Activity at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $142,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 362,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,335,459.75. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,103 shares of company stock worth $2,886,212. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 1.8%

Star Bulk Carriers stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.35. 919,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,190,293. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.06. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.72 and a 12-month high of $28.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.00%.

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.

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