Boston Partners Sells 28,901 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Boston Partners lessened its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 158,884 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 28,901 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $2,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,575,000 after buying an additional 281,552 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $904,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,833,000 after acquiring an additional 357,720 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 449,113 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,458.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 29,540 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $16.58 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $14.30 and a 12-month high of $27.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. As a group, analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.54%.

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.