Northern Trust Corp Grows Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,352 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,287 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of SBLK stock traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $16.50. 1,538,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,813,276. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.06 and a 52 week high of $27.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $14.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.59.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $159.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend 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.