Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Up 6.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) traded up 6.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.90 and last traded at $15.91. 2,048,757 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 1,950,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SBLK. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 4.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $15.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.48. 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 market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.95.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) 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). Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.