Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Short Interest Update

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a decrease of 21.6% from the September 15th total of 2,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ:SBLK traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.93. 2,713,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,600,444. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $17.91 and a 12-month high of $27.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.41.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of $352.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.05%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.94%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth about $23,212,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 335.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,221,255 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,774,000 after purchasing an additional 940,745 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 101.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,791,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,675,000 after purchasing an additional 903,542 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,719,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,052,262 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,034,000 after purchasing an additional 442,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. DNB Markets downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.33.

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.