Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 29,540 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 1,458.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,565 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,540 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $154,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at $531,000. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 25,103 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the period. CFM Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 106,119 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after buying an additional 9,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 6.5 %

NASDAQ:SBLK traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $15.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,689,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,437. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.69. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.30 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.95.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.85% and a net margin of 24.08%. Research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SBLK. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.