Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $14.56 and last traded at $14.59, with a volume of 1465276 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SBLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.33%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is presently 81.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 449,113 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,731,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth approximately $648,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company's stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.