Short Interest in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Drops By 14.6%

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,460,000 shares, a decline of 14.6% from the September 30th total of 1,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. DNB Markets lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.67.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBLK traded up $0.34 on Tuesday, hitting $19.37. 1,807,077 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,597,369. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.16 and its 200 day moving average is $23.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52 week low of $17.91 and a 52 week high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $352.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 13.58%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.94%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 120,492 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $649,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth $338,000. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,779,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $298,000. 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.