Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Short Interest Update

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of 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. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,118,968 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on 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 cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $29.15 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers has a fifty-two week low of $16.72 and a fifty-two week high of $29.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.54 and a 200-day moving average of $24.82.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $142,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 362,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,335,459.75. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 dated 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 98,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,635,792. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,536 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 20,001 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,695 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 5.6% in the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,902 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.