Nikolaos Karellis Acquires 2,000 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Nikolaos Karellis bought 2,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $56,540.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,580 shares in the company, valued at $270,826.60. This trade represents a 26.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $31.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52-week low of $16.72 and a 52-week high of $32.88.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth $19,893,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $17,398,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,096,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,494,000 after purchasing an additional 237,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth approximately $4,788,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Star Bulk Carriers

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several directors and executives bought SBLK shares at approximately $28.27 each on September 15. Purchases included CFO Symeon Spyrou’s 15,000 shares, insider Alexandros Pappas’s 74,400 shares, and additional buying by directors Raffaele Zagari, Koert Erhardt and Nikolaos Karellis. The clustered purchases may signal that insiders consider the stock attractively valued and align management with shareholders. Recent insider purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Star Bulk raised approximately €107.8 million through its Euronext Athens listing, with reported strong investor interest. The proceeds could provide capital for fleet investment, balance-sheet flexibility or other corporate purposes. Euronext Athens fundraising
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added SBLK to its Rank #1 “Strong Buy” list and its Strong Buy income-stock list. The company’s recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.21 exceeded the $0.95 consensus estimate, while its $0.90 quarterly dividend highlights its income appeal. Zacks Strong Buy list
• Neutral Sentiment: The Euronext listing and designation of Greece as the company’s home member state may expand access to European investors, but these administrative and trading changes have limited immediate effect on earnings or cash flow. Euronext listing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The follow-on offering allocates approximately 4.4 million new shares. Although fleet investment could improve future earning power, the issuance increases the share count and may dilute existing holders, creating the main near-term overhang for SBLK. Follow-on offering details
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sentiment is not uniformly bullish: over the past six months, insiders reportedly made 9 purchases but 16 sales. Investors should also weigh dry-bulk freight-rate volatility and the company’s elevated dividend payout ratio when assessing the sustainability of returns.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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.