Nikolaos Reskos Acquires 10,000 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Rescos bought 10,000 shares of the 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 $282,700.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 410,875 shares in the company, valued at $11,615,436.25. The trade was a 2.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Nikolaos Reskos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 6th, Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $147,500.00.
• On Thursday, July 30th, Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $144,950.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $32.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.70. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $16.72 and a 12 month high of $32.88.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 141.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter worth $19,893,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,398,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,096,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,494,000 after acquiring an additional 237,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth about $4,788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

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

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.