Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Reskos Acquires 10,000 Shares

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Rescos bought 10,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 410,875 shares in the company, valued at $11,615,436.25. This represents a 2.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Nikolaos Reskos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 6th, Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $147,500.00.
• On Thursday, July 30th, Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $144,950.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $31.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.70. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $29.17 and a 200 day moving average of $26.62. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.72 and a fifty-two week high of $32.88.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.3%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 141.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SBLK. Zacks Research raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Key Stories Impacting Star Bulk Carriers

Here are the key news stories impacting Star Bulk Carriers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several directors and executives bought SBLK shares at approximately $28.27 each on September 15. Purchases included CFO Symeon Spyrou’s 15,000 shares, insider Alexandros Pappas’s 74,400 shares, and additional buying by directors Raffaele Zagari, Koert Erhardt and Nikolaos Karellis. The clustered purchases may signal that insiders consider the stock attractively valued and align management with shareholders. Recent insider purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Star Bulk raised approximately €107.8 million through its Euronext Athens listing, with reported strong investor interest. The proceeds could provide capital for fleet investment, balance-sheet flexibility or other corporate purposes. Euronext Athens fundraising
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added SBLK to its Rank #1 “Strong Buy” list and its Strong Buy income-stock list. The company’s recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.21 exceeded the $0.95 consensus estimate, while its $0.90 quarterly dividend highlights its income appeal. Zacks Strong Buy list
• Neutral Sentiment: The Euronext listing and designation of Greece as the company’s home member state may expand access to European investors, but these administrative and trading changes have limited immediate effect on earnings or cash flow. Euronext listing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The follow-on offering allocates approximately 4.4 million new shares. Although fleet investment could improve future earning power, the issuance increases the share count and may dilute existing holders, creating the main near-term overhang for SBLK. Follow-on offering details
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sentiment is not uniformly bullish: over the past six months, insiders reportedly made 9 purchases but 16 sales. Investors should also weigh dry-bulk freight-rate volatility and the company’s elevated dividend payout ratio when assessing the sustainability of returns.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66,333 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 3.9% during the second quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 53,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,335 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,363 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.