Raffaele Zagari Sells 50,000 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Raffaele Zagari sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total value of $1,560,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,903,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,373,600. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $30.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.46 and a 200-day moving average of $25.90. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.91. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $16.72 and a 1 year high of $31.25.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $284.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, equities analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.8%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,949,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,893,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,018.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 424.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,205,000 after acquiring an additional 682,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.