Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,989 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.27% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $4,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $970,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,530,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 161.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 52,512 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 32,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 48,011 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 8,376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of SBLK stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 282,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,423. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.93. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year high of $23.82. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.57 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 18.62%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.10%.

About Star Bulk Carriers

Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. Its vessels transport a range of bulk commodities, including iron ores, minerals and grains, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of 116 dry bulk vessels with combined carrying capacity of 13.1 million deadweight tonnage (dwt) consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 53,489 dwt and 209,537 dwt.