Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Makes New Investment in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% in the 4th 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Amundi increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,174,566 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $17,454,000 after acquiring an additional 385,980 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $904,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of SBLK traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.52. 1,566,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,825,640. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $12.06 and a fifty-two week high of $24.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.67 and a 200-day moving average of $15.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is 10.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.