Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock: Insider Koert Erhardt Sells 6,000 Shares

Key Points

• Director Koert Erhardt sold 6,000 Star Bulk Carriers shares at an average price of $30.39, reducing his holdings by 37.31% to 10,080 shares. He had purchased 6,000 shares just weeks earlier at $28.27 each.
• Star Bulk reported quarterly earnings of $1.21 per share, beating estimates of $0.95, while revenue reached $284.60 million. Analysts expect $4.38 in full-year EPS on average.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, implying a $3.60 annualized payout and a 12.1% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $31.50 average price target.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) Director Koert Erhardt sold 6,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.39, for a total value of $182,340.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $306,331.20. The trade was a 37.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Koert Erhardt also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Koert Erhardt acquired 6,000 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.27 per share, with a total value of $169,620.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,782. 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 $32.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.74.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 26.3% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 66,429 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 13,851 shares during the last quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66,333 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth $1,371,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 48.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 565,562 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $12,991,000 after purchasing an additional 184,837 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. NASDAQ: SBLK is a global dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport major and minor bulk commodities. Its cargoes include iron ore, grains, bauxite, fertilizers, steel products and other raw materials.

The company operates a diversified fleet of dry bulk carriers, including Capesize, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels. These ships serve international trade routes and transport commodities between producers, exporters and industrial customers across major global markets.

Star Bulk was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.

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