Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $682,000 Stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,646 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,250 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,641 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $16.60 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52-week low of $14.30 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.87.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. Analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

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.