Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,013 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,536 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 20,001 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,695 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 5.6% during the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,902 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In other news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,716,327. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 98,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,635,792 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 6.4%

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $29.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $29.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.82. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 160.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SBLK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.