Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $436,000 Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,195 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 25,205 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,784,000 after buying an additional 449,113 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,947 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 7,306 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 106,119 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 9,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 113,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,667. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.70. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year high of $27.47. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.89.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.21. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.