Insider Selling: Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Insider Sells $313,383.75 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.95, for a total transaction of $313,383.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,156.85. This trade represents a 13.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Charis Plakantonaki also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 17th, Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total value of $322,801.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of SBLK opened at $30.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.63. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $16.72 and a one year high of $30.90. 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 $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. Equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.0%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after buying an additional 807,751 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,205,000 after buying an additional 682,406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

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.