Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Koert Erhardt Buys 6,000 Shares of Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Koert Erhardt purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $169,620.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,581.60. This represents a 59.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $30.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.58. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $16.72 and a 52 week high of $32.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. On average, research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.7%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.18%.

Star Bulk Carriers News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Star Bulk Carriers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Three insiders purchased a combined 23,000 shares for approximately $650,000 at an average price of $28.27. CFO Symeon Spyrou made the largest purchase, adding 15,000 shares, while directors Koert Erhardt and Nikolaos Karellis also increased their holdings. Insider buying can signal management confidence in the company’s valuation and outlook. SEC insider purchase filing
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added SBLK to its Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” lists, including its income-stock list. The upgrade may attract additional interest from quantitative and income-oriented investors, although it is not a change to the company’s fundamentals. Zacks Strong Buy list
• Neutral Sentiment: Star Bulk completed the listing of its shares on Euronext Athens and formally designated Greece as its home member state under Greek securities law. The move strengthens the company’s connection to Greek capital markets and may broaden local investor access, but it does not immediately change earnings or cash flow. Star Bulk Euronext listing
• Neutral Sentiment: The Greek offering raised approximately €107.8 million and resulted in the admission of 116,071,386 common shares to the Euronext Athens market. The additional capital could support fleet investment or balance-sheet flexibility, but investors are weighing those benefits against the increased share count. Star Bulk Greek offering
• Negative Sentiment: The issuance of new shares creates dilution for existing shareholders and may temporarily increase the available supply of SBLK stock. That overhang is the clearest near-term reason the shares may be under pressure despite insider purchases, the new listing and bullish analyst-screening signals.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth about $19,893,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth about $17,398,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,096,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 237,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,788,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.