nVerses Capital LLC Buys 2,500 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 39.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth $36,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 100.0% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth about $72,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. DNB Markets lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.33.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $20.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.43 and its 200-day moving average is $23.34. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $17.91 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $352.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.94%.

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.