O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 50.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,773 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 29,878 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,174,566 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,454,000 after buying an additional 385,980 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,833,000 after purchasing an additional 357,720 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,784,000 after buying an additional 449,113 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,575,000 after buying an additional 281,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $3,530,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on SBLK shares. StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:SBLK traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $13.65. The stock had a trading volume of 298,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,859,173. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.77. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.06 and a 52 week high of $27.47. The business's fifty day moving average is $15.40 and its 200 day moving average is $16.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is 12.54%.

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.