Investors Buy High Volume of Star Bulk Carriers Call Options (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 13,073 call options on the company. This is an increase of 342% compared to the average daily volume of 2,960 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Koert Erhardt sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.39, for a total transaction of $182,340.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $306,331.20. This represents a 37.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mahesh Balakrishnan sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.34, for a total transaction of $323,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $940,447.20. This trade represents a 25.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 170,400 shares of company stock valued at $4,817,208 and have sold 101,150 shares valued at $3,106,795. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $187,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $235,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.3% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,363 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth approximately $403,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of SBLK stock traded up $0.41 on Monday, reaching $28.20. 370,264 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,472,954. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52 week low of $17.29 and a 52 week high of $32.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.60.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%. As a group, analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 4.38 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.8%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 141.18%.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its cargoes include iron ore, grains, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other raw materials.

The company operates a diversified fleet of dry bulk carriers, including Capesize, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels. These ships serve international trade routes and transport commodities between producers, exporters and industrial customers across major global markets.

Star Bulk was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.