Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SBLK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $22.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.33 and a 200-day moving average of $20.50. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $12.06 and a 52-week high of $27.20.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $230.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 3.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.