Ritholtz Wealth Management Trims Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 61.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,594 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 20,036 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 26.4% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,641 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,882 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $14.35 on Thursday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.31 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.64. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.85, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.72%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SBLK shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.80.

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.