Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Price

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $16.39 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $14.30 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.95.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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.