Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

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

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,039,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,797,499. Star Bulk Carriers has a twelve month low of $12.06 and a twelve month high of $25.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.47 and a 200-day moving average of $15.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.57 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 18.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,868,249 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $26,548,000 after purchasing an additional 693,683 shares during the period. Philosophy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,259 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $23,640,000 after purchasing an additional 139,930 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,298,436 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $20,204,000 after purchasing an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,240,650 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $18,548,000 after purchasing an additional 147,659 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 938,208 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $14,599,000 after purchasing an additional 336,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

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.