Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 1st, 2026

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.72 and last traded at $28.7590, with a volume of 656245 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SBLK. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Star Bulk Carriers

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.85.

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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 160.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Star Bulk Carriers news, COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 33,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $869,946.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 407,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,716,327. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nikolaos Karellis sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $539,200.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,103 shares of company stock worth $2,635,792 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 141.7% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,743 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.