Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the recipient of a large 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. Based on an average daily volume of 1,252,018 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $29.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.39. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $16.72 and a 1 year high of $29.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.90 dividend. 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 12.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.43%.

Insider Transactions at Star Bulk Carriers

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,716,327. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total value of $539,200.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 108,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,928,242 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,056 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,049,000 after acquiring 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 worth approximately $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,205,000 after acquiring an additional 682,406 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SBLK. 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 research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

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.