Insider Selling: Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Sells $112,420.00 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Eleni Vrettou sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total transaction of $112,420.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,686 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,794.32. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.6%

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $29.90 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $16.72 and a 52 week high of $32.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.82.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%.The firm had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. Analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.0%. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 141.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at about $187,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,000. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 190.3% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,363 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $403,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBLK. 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 research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its fleet serves the international supply chains for iron ore, grain, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other dry cargoes.

The company operates a diversified fleet that includes large Capesize and Newcastlemax vessels as well as Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax bulk carriers. Star Bulk’s vessels serve customers and ports across major shipping routes worldwide, supporting commodity trade between producers, exporters and end markets.

Star Bulk Carriers was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece, with the company incorporated in the Marshall Islands.