Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,342 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,835 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.39% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $4,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,784,000 after buying an additional 449,113 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,174,566 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $17,454,000 after purchasing an additional 385,980 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 357,720 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,530,000. Finally, Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth about $2,743,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,001,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,861,157. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.73. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $12.06 and a twelve month high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.77.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. The firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $230.91 million. Research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Star Bulk Carriers's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

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.