Virtu Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,810 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBLK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 45,646 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 10,250 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at $904,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

SBLK traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,075,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,859,625. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.03. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $14.30 and a twelve month high of $27.47.

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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). The company had revenue of $308.92 million during 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%. Research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Star Bulk Carriers's payout ratio is 12.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.05.

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.