Nikolaos Reskos Sells 8,406 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock

Key Points

• COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) on April 15 at an average price of $25.05 for $210,570, reducing his stake by 1.87% to 440,878 shares valued at about $11.04 million.
• Dividend increased: the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.37 (annualized $1.48) for a ~6.0% yield, up from the prior $0.11 quarterly payment, with a payout ratio of 202.74%.
• Recent results and outlook: Star Bulk reported quarterly EPS of $0.62 (beats consensus by $0.10) while revenue missed estimates, and analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target price of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) COO Nikolaos Reskos sold 8,406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $210,570.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 440,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,043,993.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, April 14th, Nikolaos Reskos sold 1,594 shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $39,850.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.3%

SBLK stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.57. The stock had a trading volume of 224,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,786. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $13.37 and a 1-year high of $27.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.85 and a 200 day moving average of $20.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55 and a beta of 0.78.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $230.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $101,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,036 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,967,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $40,283,000 after purchasing an additional 539,567 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 note on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.

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