Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Down 3.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) dropped 3.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $13.76 and last traded at $13.66. Approximately 99,061 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,859,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 3.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.84.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 12.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,240,650 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,548,000 after acquiring an additional 147,659 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,174,566 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,454,000 after purchasing an additional 385,980 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 12.4% in the fourth 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. Grand Alliance Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Grand Alliance Asset Management Ltd now owns 740,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,063,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,713 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,398,000 after acquiring an additional 104,439 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.