Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $26.94 and traded as high as $29.58. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $29.20, with a volume of 1,595,841 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBLK shares. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.70. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $29.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.00.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.8%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 141.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, insider Charis Plakantonaki purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $84,810.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 58,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,654.06. The trade was a 5.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eleni Vrettou sold 3,500 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total transaction of $112,420.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,794.32. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 170,400 shares of company stock worth $4,817,208 and sold 95,150 shares worth $2,924,455. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,494,000 after buying an additional 237,248 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth approximately $19,893,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,398,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 565,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,991,000 after acquiring an additional 184,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,096,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Star Bulk Carriers

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its cargoes include iron ore, grains, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other raw materials.

The company operates a diversified fleet of dry bulk carriers, including Capesize, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels. These ships serve international trade routes and transport commodities between producers, exporters and industrial customers across major global markets.

Star Bulk was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.