Fox Run Management L.L.C. Boosts Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 11,652 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. owned about 0.05% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBLK. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.6 %

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $16.32 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.64. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $14.30 and a 1-year high of $27.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.