Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Rating Lowered by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $21.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $30.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. DNB Markets downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.67.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 3.6 %

SBLK opened at $19.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.26. Star Bulk Carriers has a twelve month low of $17.91 and a twelve month high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $352.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.58%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 102.94%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 14.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 199,760 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 25,106 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter worth $794,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 112.7% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 792,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,915,000 after buying an additional 420,100 shares during the period. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,259,000. Finally, Fifth Lane Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter worth about $1,856,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.