Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Buys $1,413,500.00 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Raffaele Zagari purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,953,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,211,310. The trade was a 2.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Raffaele Zagari also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Raffaele Zagari bought 10,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.27 per share, for a total transaction of $282,700.00.
• On Tuesday, August 25th, Raffaele Zagari sold 50,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $1,560,000.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $32.08. 542,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,803. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.58. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $16.72 and a twelve month high of $32.88.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This is an increase 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 11.2%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.18%.

Star Bulk Carriers News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several insiders purchased a combined 110,400 SBLK shares for approximately $3.12 million at $28.27 per share. The purchases included 74,400 shares by Alexandros Pappas, 15,000 by CFO Symeon Spyrou, 10,000 by COO Nikolaos Rescos, and additional purchases by directors and other executives. The broad buying may signal that management views the stock as undervalued or expects continued business strength. Insider buying report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added Star Bulk Carriers to its Rank #1 “Strong Buy” list and its Strong Buy income-stock list. The endorsement may support buying interest from momentum and dividend-focused investors. Zacks Strong Buy report
• Neutral Sentiment: SBLK completed its listing on Euronext Athens and designated Greece as its home member state under Greek securities law. The listing could improve visibility and access to European investors, but it has limited immediate effect on earnings or cash flow. Euronext listing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The Greek follow-on offering raised approximately €107.8 million. While the proceeds strengthen liquidity and may support fleet investments, issuing new shares increases the share count and can dilute existing shareholders, creating a near-term overhang. Greek offering results

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,067,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,494,000 after buying an additional 237,248 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at $19,893,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth about $17,398,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 48.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 565,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,991,000 after purchasing an additional 184,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth about $11,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.