Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued Saturday.
• Despite the upgrade, the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Hold" with a $22.00 price target and the stock was trading around $22.33 (down ~1.8%), with a 52‑week range of $12.06–$27.20.
• Star Bulk beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.62 vs. $0.52) but missed revenue expectations, while several large institutions (AllianceBernstein, Ameriprise, UBS) recently increased stakes and roughly 33.9% of shares are held by hedge funds/institutions.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

SBLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut Star Bulk Carriers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.8%

SBLK stock opened at $22.33 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.37. Star Bulk Carriers has a fifty-two week low of $12.06 and a fifty-two week high of $27.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59 and a beta of 0.73.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. On average, research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,681,036 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,967,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,283,000 after buying an additional 539,567 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $19,391,000 after acquiring an additional 43,158 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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