Charis Plakantonaki Purchases 3,000 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) insider Charis Plakantonaki bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.27 per share, for a total transaction of $84,810.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,654.06. This represents a 5.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Charis Plakantonaki also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 17th, Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total transaction of $322,801.50.
• On Friday, August 14th, Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.95, for a total value of $313,383.75.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $32.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.70. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $16.72 and a twelve month high of $32.88. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $29.29 and its 200 day moving average is $26.66.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $187,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $193,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings 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 acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $403,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Star Bulk Carriers News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBLK shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.