Nikolaos Reskos Sells 9,914 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 9,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total transaction of $263,216.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 397,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,560,926.25. This trade represents a 2.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Thursday, May 21st, Nikolaos Reskos sold 30,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.29, for a total transaction of $818,700.00.
• On Monday, May 18th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 86 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction 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 Performance

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $26.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.53 and a 200-day moving average of $22.27. 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 1-year low of $15.78 and a 1-year high of $28.28.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 6.82%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.40%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 34.8% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 652,982 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,139,000 after acquiring an additional 168,491 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 101.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 49,968 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,822,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 50.8% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,381 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $581,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, March 27th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

Star Bulk Carriers News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Star Bulk reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, including earnings and revenue that beat analyst estimates, which supports the bullish case for the dry bulk shipping business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a larger quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, a 35.1% increase from the prior payout, signaling confidence in cash generation and shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a plan to return 100% of free cash flow while maintaining a minimum $2.1 million per vessel cash balance, which may reassure investors about capital discipline and ongoing distributions. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings-call transcripts and the Q1 presentation are circulating, keeping attention on operating trends, but they do not appear to add a new catalyst by themselves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Nikolaos Reskos disclosed several stock sales, including recent trades under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan; while notable, these sales are not necessarily a sign of worsening fundamentals. Article Title

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.