Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Short Interest Jumps 61.4%

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

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,041,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,514. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $16.72 and a one year high of $32.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.85 and its 200 day moving average is $26.94.

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 forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 4.38 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 12.3%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 141.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. 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. Three investment 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In related news, Director Mahesh Balakrishnan sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.34, for a total value of $323,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,447.20. This trade represents a 25.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eleni Vrettou sold 3,500 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total value of $112,420.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,686 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,794.32. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 170,400 shares of company stock worth $4,817,208 and sold 95,150 shares worth $2,924,455.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 66,429 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 13,851 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC raised its position 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. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter worth $1,371,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $12,991,000 after acquiring an additional 184,837 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.