Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.21 EPS

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.21, Zacks reports. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 6.81%.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.96. The company had a trading volume of 880,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,906. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $16.72 and a one year high of $29.34.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 160.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,327. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $539,200.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 103,103 shares of company stock worth $2,780,742 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew 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 worth $87,000 after purchasing 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 valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,695 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,902 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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, Zacks Research lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.