Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Trading 6.9% Higher - Time to Buy?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 6.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $14.17 and last traded at $13.99. Approximately 1,453,060 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 1,858,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.77. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.95.

Remove Ads

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $904,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 357,720 shares in 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 valued at $10,784,000 after acquiring an additional 449,113 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,458.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 29,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,082 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company's stock.

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.