Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $12.39 and last traded at $12.66, with a volume of 4887741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.01.

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

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 12.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 25,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.