Jefferies Financial Group Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has reiterated a "buy" rating for Star Bulk Carriers, setting a target price of $22.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.88% from the current stock price.
• Star Bulk Carriers has been downgraded to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, contrasting with two analysts who maintain a "hold" and two who rate it as a "buy."
• The company recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of (0.07), which was better than analysts' average estimate of (0.28), alongside a revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter.

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $22.00 target price on the shipping company's stock.

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.30.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.7%

SBLK traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $18.84. 873,817 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,597. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $12.06 and a 12-month high of $23.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.74 and a 200 day moving average of $16.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 10.98% and a return on equity of 4.93%. The firm had revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,402 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 61,909 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 24,009 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,440 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.