Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $23.72 and traded as high as $25.34. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $24.81, with a volume of 918,713 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBLK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of 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 lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 160.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,327. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% in 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 last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.