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

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,057,783 shares, an increase of 90.3% from the July 15th total of 1,081,406 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,252,018 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ SBLK traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $29.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 844,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,447. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52 week low of $16.72 and a 52 week high of $29.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.72.

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 issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.1%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $147,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 400,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,825,812.50. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred on 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. Insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock worth $2,058,295 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,446,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $101,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,036 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,283,000 after buying an additional 539,567 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,494,000 after acquiring an additional 237,248 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,298,436 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,204,000 after acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,391,000 after acquiring an additional 43,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate 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.