Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,352 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying 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 quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.0%

Star Bulk Carriers stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.50. 1,538,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,812,807. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.68. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $12.06 and a 12-month high of $27.39.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $159.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.57 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.