Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 237,248 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237,248 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.82% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $47,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SBLK. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,716,327. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 98,103 shares of company stock worth $2,635,792.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 3.7%

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $27.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.72 and a fifty-two week high of $28.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 160.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

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.