Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 28,637 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 262.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,538 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 28,637 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at $970,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in 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 in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,530,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 161.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 52,512 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 32,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 48,011 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 8,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.9%

SBLK traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.42. The company had a trading volume of 574,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,177,910. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.06 and a 52 week high of $23.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $17.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $159.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $162.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Star Bulk Carriers's 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.