Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $16.87 and last traded at $17.04, with a volume of 314036 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SBLK shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.27.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.95%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,052,262 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,034,000 after purchasing an additional 442,860 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 101.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,791,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,675,000 after purchasing an additional 903,542 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,746,070 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 358,870 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 335.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,221,255 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,774,000 after purchasing an additional 940,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philosophy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,842,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.