Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Nikolaos Karellis Buys 2,000 Shares

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Director Nikolaos Karellis purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $56,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,580 shares in the company, valued at $270,826.60. This trade represents a 26.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of SBLK stock opened at $30.87 on Thursday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $32.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.70.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $284.60 million for 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, equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date was 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 141.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 167,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,210,000 after buying an additional 47,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted 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 worth $12,991,000 after acquiring an additional 184,837 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $909,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,788,000. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,096,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company insiders purchased a combined 23,000 SBLK shares for approximately $650,000 at $28.27 per share. CFO Symeon Spyrou bought 15,000 shares, while directors Koert Erhardt and Nikolaos Karellis also increased their holdings. The purchases may signal that insiders view the stock as attractively valued. Insider buying report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added Star Bulk Carriers to its Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” list and its Strong Buy income-stock list. The coverage could attract additional momentum and dividend-focused investors, although it does not represent a change in the company’s operations. Zacks Strong Buy report
• Neutral Sentiment: SBLK completed its Euronext Athens listing and designated Greece as its home member state under Greek securities law. The move may broaden access to Greek and European investors, but it has limited immediate impact on earnings or cash flow. Euronext listing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The follow-on public offering raised approximately €107.8 million. While the proceeds strengthen liquidity and could fund fleet investments or other corporate purposes, issuing additional shares can dilute existing shareholders and increase the stock’s supply—likely the main near-term overhang for SBLK. Greek offering results

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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.