Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Trading Up 6.3% – Still a Buy?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s stock price traded up 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.90 and last traded at $15.91. 2,048,757 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 1,950,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DNB Markets upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 5.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.17 and a 200-day moving average of $18.49.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.85%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 83.62%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Michels Family Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $385,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $162,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 813,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,154,000 after acquiring an additional 89,600 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 22,094 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 8,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 74,159 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 21,489 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.