Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.39, but opened at $15.58. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $15.29, with a volume of 1,512,476 shares.

The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 24.75%. The company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DNB Markets raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth about $162,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 813,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,154,000 after buying an additional 89,600 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 22,094 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 8,890 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 74,159 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 21,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.17 and a 200-day moving average of $18.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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.