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

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.03, but opened at $17.53. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $17.53, with a volume of 577,516 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 5.93, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.68%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 4,127 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,694,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 25,988 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $794,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,025,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,009,000 after purchasing an additional 233,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.