Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Sells $1,560,000.00 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Raffaele Zagari sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $1,560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,903,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,373,600. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $30.48 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.72 and a 12-month high of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.94.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.18%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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.