Short Interest in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Grows By 64.2%

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,140,000 shares, a growth of 64.2% from the February 28th total of 3,130,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Philosophy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,842,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at about $17,137,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 449,113 shares during the period. Praetorian PR LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,267,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 152.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 685,053 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $16,229,000 after buying an additional 413,423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBLK has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.05.

Remove Ads

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock traded down $0.42 on Monday, reaching $15.56. 1,185,322 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,939. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.03. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1-year low of $14.30 and a 1-year 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 company's 50-day moving average is $15.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.53.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. 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.