Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) CFO Purchases $424,050.00 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) CFO Symeon Spyrou acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.27 per share, for a total transaction of $424,050.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 241,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,818,724. This trade represents a 6.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $32.48 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $16.72 and a one year high of $32.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 141.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 26.3% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 66,429 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 13,851 shares in the last quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 53,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66,333 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,371,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 565,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,991,000 after purchasing an additional 184,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several executives and directors recently bought SBLK shares at approximately $28.27, including 60,000 shares by director Raffaele Zagari, 74,400 by Alexandros Pappas, 15,000 by CFO Symeon Spyrou, 10,000 by COO Nikolaos Rescos, and smaller purchases by other insiders. The clustered buying may signal that management views the shares as undervalued and aligns insider interests with shareholders. Recent insider purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Star Bulk’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $1.21 versus a $0.95 consensus estimate. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.90 from $0.50, supporting its appeal to income-oriented investors. Analysts’ reported consensus rating remains “Buy.” SBLK earnings and insider report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company raised approximately €107.8 million through its Euronext Athens listing and follow-on transaction. The proceeds could support fleet investment, debt management and liquidity, while the European listing may broaden the shareholder base. Euronext Athens fundraising
• Negative Sentiment: The transaction includes roughly 4.4 million newly issued shares. Although the capital may fund fleet growth, the larger share count creates dilution and additional selling supply, making the offering a near-term valuation overhang. SBLK follow-on offering
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend-focused investors should note that the annualized $3.60 payout represents a payout ratio above 100%, while shipping dividends are highly sensitive to freight rates and vessel-market conditions. The headline yield may therefore be difficult to sustain. Shipping dividend sustainability analysis

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBLK. Weiss Ratings raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.