Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Star Bulk Carriers has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more cautious outlook from analysts.
• Jefferies Financial Group maintains a "buy" rating with a price objective of $22.00, while the stock has a consensus target of $22.30.
• Star Bulk Carriers reported a quarterly earnings per share of ($0.07), beating estimates, but its revenue for the quarter came in below analyst expectations.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.30.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.79. The company had a trading volume of 884,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,726. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.94. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $12.06 and a 52-week high of $23.82.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.57 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 4.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,456.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 34.0% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,402 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 66.7% in the first quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 5,000 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 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.