Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Invests $394,000 in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,350 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $275,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 61,909 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of SBLK stock traded down $0.44 on Wednesday, reaching $17.42. 322,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,819,293. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.65. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $12.06 and a 1 year high of $24.51.

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 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 net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 8.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is 10.10%.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.