Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,708,879 shares, an increase of 61.4% from the August 31st total of 1,678,864 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, Director Mahesh Balakrishnan sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.34, for a total transaction of $323,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,447.20. This represents a 25.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Nikolaos Rescos bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $282,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 410,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,615,436.25. The trade was a 2.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 170,400 shares of company stock worth $4,817,208 and have sold 95,150 shares worth $2,924,455. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 26.3% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 66,429 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 13,851 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 3.9% in the second quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 53,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 0.8% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66,333 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,371,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 565,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,991,000 after acquiring an additional 184,837 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

SBLK traded up $1.07 on Thursday, hitting $30.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,590,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,748. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.70. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12 month low of $16.72 and a 12 month high of $32.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. Analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.8%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.18%.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its cargoes include iron ore, grains, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other raw materials.

The company operates a diversified fleet of dry bulk carriers, including Capesize, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels. These ships serve international trade routes and transport commodities between producers, exporters and industrial customers across major global markets.

Star Bulk was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.