Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Reskos Sells 1,594 Shares

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 1,594 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $39,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 449,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,232,100. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Wednesday, April 15th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $210,570.30.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

SBLK stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $24.57. 224,098 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,526,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 0.78. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52-week low of $13.37 and a 52-week high of $27.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.91.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 202.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,446,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $101,245,000 after buying an additional 1,681,036 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,967,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,166,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,283,000 after buying an additional 539,567 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in 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 buying an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,041,252 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,391,000 after buying an additional 43,158 shares during the last quarter. 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.