Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $47.49 Million Stock Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237,248 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $47,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $142,450.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 362,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,335,459.75. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $539,200.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 98,103 shares of company stock worth $2,635,792 over the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBLK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $27.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.45 and its 200-day moving average is $24.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.72. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.72 and a 12-month high of $28.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.00%.

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.