Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Short Interest Update

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,057,783 shares, an increase of 90.3% from the July 15th total of 1,081,406 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,252,018 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $30.09 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.72. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $16.72 and a 12-month high of $30.18.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%.The firm had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SBLK. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Star Bulk Carriers

In other news, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $539,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $147,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 400,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,825,812.50. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 74,914 shares of company stock worth $2,056,017 in the last 90 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.