Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Acquires New Shares in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 75,095 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. owned about 0.09% of Star Bulk Carriers at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 27.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 442,860 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 101.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,791,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,675,000 after buying an additional 903,542 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 358,870 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $29,774,000 after acquiring an additional 940,745 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,025,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,009,000 after acquiring an additional 233,000 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBLK. DNB Markets lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.67.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.2 %

SBLK stock opened at $19.24 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $17.91 and a twelve month high of $27.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.26.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 13.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 102.94%.

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.