Private Advisor Group LLC Buys 28,637 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 262.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 28,637 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 97.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 69,936 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 34,433 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter valued at about $893,000. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 290.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 48,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 36,186 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at about $970,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 93,352 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 16,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $18.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.93. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $12.06 and a 1-year high of $23.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $159.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.57 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 8.20%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.10%.

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.