WINTON GROUP Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd reduced its Star Bulk Carriers stake by 59.7% in the second quarter, selling 62,989 shares and retaining 42,600 shares valued at approximately $1.06 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Star Bulk receiving a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $31.50. Several institutions, including AllianceBernstein and Millennium Management, increased or initiated positions.
• Star Bulk reported quarterly EPS of $1.21, exceeding estimates of $0.95, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share—an annualized yield of about 11.5%.

WINTON GROUP Ltd cut its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 59.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 42,600 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 62,989 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth about $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 807,751 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings 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 valued at $16,205,000 after acquiring an additional 682,406 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total transaction of $322,801.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 55,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,663,299.96. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $147,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 400,875 shares in the company, valued at $11,825,812.50. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,650 shares of company stock valued at $2,488,635.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

SBLK stock opened at $31.17 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.46. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $16.72 and a 12 month high of $32.88. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. This is an increase 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 dividend 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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