Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Insider Alexandros Pappas Buys 74,400 Shares of Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) insider Alexandros Pappas bought 74,400 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $2,103,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,532,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,583,880.50. The trade was a 3.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

SBLK opened at $31.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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 company had revenue of $284.60 million during 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%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change 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 11.3%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

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

More Star Bulk Carriers News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several directors and executives bought SBLK shares at approximately $28.27 each on September 15. Purchases included CFO Symeon Spyrou’s 15,000 shares, insider Alexandros Pappas’s 74,400 shares, and additional buying by directors Raffaele Zagari, Koert Erhardt and Nikolaos Karellis. The clustered purchases may signal that insiders consider the stock attractively valued and align management with shareholders. Recent insider purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Star Bulk raised approximately €107.8 million through its Euronext Athens listing, with reported strong investor interest. The proceeds could provide capital for fleet investment, balance-sheet flexibility or other corporate purposes. Euronext Athens fundraising
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added SBLK to its Rank #1 “Strong Buy” list and its Strong Buy income-stock list. The company’s recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.21 exceeded the $0.95 consensus estimate, while its $0.90 quarterly dividend highlights its income appeal. Zacks Strong Buy list
• Neutral Sentiment: The Euronext listing and designation of Greece as the company’s home member state may expand access to European investors, but these administrative and trading changes have limited immediate effect on earnings or cash flow. Euronext listing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The follow-on offering allocates approximately 4.4 million new shares. Although fleet investment could improve future earning power, the issuance increases the share count and may dilute existing holders, creating the main near-term overhang for SBLK. Follow-on offering details
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sentiment is not uniformly bullish: over the past six months, insiders reportedly made 9 purchases but 16 sales. Investors should also weigh dry-bulk freight-rate volatility and the company’s elevated dividend payout ratio when assessing the sustainability of returns.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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