Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Price Up 6.9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) rose 6.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $14.17 and last traded at $13.99. Approximately 1,453,060 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 1,858,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBLK. StockNews.com downgraded 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 target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 6.2 %

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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.31. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,575,000 after acquiring an additional 281,552 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 152.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 685,053 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,229,000 after purchasing an additional 413,423 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at approximately $648,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,731,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.