Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Makes New Investment in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 57,416 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBLK. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,456.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

NASDAQ SBLK traded up $0.16 on Monday, reaching $18.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,996,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,226. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $12.06 and a twelve month high of $24.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50 day moving average is $16.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.56.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.21. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 18.62%. The company had revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Star Bulk Carriers Profile

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.