Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $28.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 49.53% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SBLK. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. DNB Markets lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK stock opened at $18.73 on Wednesday. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $18.52 and a one year high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently 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.