Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Sells $869,946.84 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,716,327. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nikolaos Reskos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 19th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 86 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total transaction of $2,278.14.
• On Wednesday, April 15th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $210,570.30.
• On Tuesday, April 14th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 1,594 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $39,850.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $26.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $15.78 and a 12 month high of $27.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.35 and its 200 day moving average is $22.13.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%. Research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 202.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SBLK. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.