Marshall Wace LLP Has $6.95 Million Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 464,836 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 513,186 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.55% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $6,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth about $904,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,833,000 after acquiring an additional 357,720 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,784,000 after acquiring an additional 449,113 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,458.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 29,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,082 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 3.3 %

SBLK stock opened at $14.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.47. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52-week low of $12.06 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SBLK. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.05.

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.

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