Insider Selling: Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Sells $144,950.00 in Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $144,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 405,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,766,316.25. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nikolaos Reskos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 1st, Nikolaos Reskos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $142,450.00.
• On Thursday, May 21st, Nikolaos Reskos sold 30,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.29, for a total value of $818,700.00.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 9,914 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total value of $263,216.70.
• On Monday, May 18th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $869,946.84.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 86 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $2,278.14.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $27.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.05. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $16.72 and a one year high of $29.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBLK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 94.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 56,930 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,298,436 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,204,000 after purchasing an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after buying an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 673.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 49,471 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 43,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,444,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.