Star Bulk Carriers Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 10,723 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 369% compared to the typical volume of 2,287 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 8.3 %

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock traded down $1.15 on Tuesday, reaching $12.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,297,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,628. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $12.51 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.77.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, equities research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 449,113 shares in the last quarter. Praetorian PR LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,267,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 152.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,174,566 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,454,000 after buying an additional 385,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.