Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 208,427 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,788,000. Star Bulk Carriers makes up approximately 0.7% of Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at about $73,967,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter worth about $64,949,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 807,751 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,205,000 after purchasing an additional 682,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth about $11,096,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 108,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,886,212 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued 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 research note on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK stock opened at $25.15 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.72 and a 12-month high of $28.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 160.00%.

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.