SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 16,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 39,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 12,185 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,082 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 84,221 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 9,126 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $15.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.10. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.30 and a 1 year high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.91 million. On average, analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

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.