Star Bulk Carriers’ (SBLK) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $28.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock.

SBLK has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $18.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.69. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $18.92 and a 12-month high of $27.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 94.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 84.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,761 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth $212,000. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter worth $263,000. BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter valued at about $1,371,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.4% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.