Wells Fargo & Company MN Decreases Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 93.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,514 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 653,794 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.05% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 449,113 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,174,566 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $17,454,000 after acquiring an additional 385,980 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,530,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,743,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,713 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,398,000 after purchasing an additional 104,439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of SBLK traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.03. 716,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,851,280. The business's 50-day moving average price is $15.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.13. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $12.06 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is 12.54%.

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.