Waldron Private Wealth LLC Takes $284,000 Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,396 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at $5,042,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 209.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 35,220 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 291,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,617,000 after purchasing an additional 48,691 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth $277,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 407.1% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 372,702 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after buying an additional 299,200 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

SBLK stock opened at $23.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $16.57 and a 1 year high of $25.16.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $263.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.40 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 18.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 101.70%.

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.