Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Invests $30,000 in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,991 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 39,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 12,185 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,082 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 84,221 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 9,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 22,021 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $15.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52-week low of $14.30 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.95.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $308.92 million for 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%. Analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.54%.

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.