Nikolaos Reskos Buys 10,000 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Key Points

• COO Nikolaos Reskos purchased 10,000 Star Bulk Carriers shares at an average price of $28.27, investing $282,700 and increasing his direct holdings by 2.49% to 410,875 shares.
• Star Bulk reported quarterly EPS of $1.21, exceeding analysts’ $0.95 estimate, while revenue of $284.6 million was broadly in line with expectations.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, equivalent to a $3.60 annualized payout and an 11.7% yield; analysts maintained an overall Buy consensus with an average price target of $31.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) COO Nikolaos Rescos bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $282,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 410,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,615,436.25. This trade represents a 2.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Thursday, August 6th, Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $147,500.00.
• On Thursday, July 30th, Nikolaos Rescos sold 5,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $144,950.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $30.87 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.58. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $16.72 and a 52 week high of $32.88. The company 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 23.87%.The company had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. Research analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.7%. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio is presently 141.18%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 0.8% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66,333 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 53,570 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,335 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 3,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,363 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.50.

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

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.

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