Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,293 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,195 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC owned about 0.33% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $6,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 25,103 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $531,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth about $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

NASDAQ SBLK traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.69. 1,788,136 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,800,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.54. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $12.06 and a 1 year high of $26.04. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.89.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. The company had revenue of $159.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.