Short Interest in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Declines By 34.0%

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a large drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,081,406 shares, a drop of 34.0% from the June 30th total of 1,639,559 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,118,968 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SBLK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $28.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 0.72. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $16.72 and a 1 year high of $29.34. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.85.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is a boost 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 7.0%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 160.00%.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In related news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $142,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 362,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,335,459.75. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Insiders have sold a total of 98,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,635,792 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter worth approximately $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 807,751 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 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.