Insider Selling: Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Insider Sells $313,383.75 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) insider Charis Plakantonaki sold 10,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.95, for a total transaction of $313,383.75. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,156.85. This trade represents a 13.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.85. The company had a trading volume of 810,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,393,419. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.72. 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 12-month low of $16.72 and a 12-month high of $30.18.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. As a group, analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter worth about $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after purchasing an additional 807,751 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,205,000 after buying an additional 682,406 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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.