Star Bulk Carriers’ (SBLK) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $28.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock.

SBLK has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. DNB Markets downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.4 %

SBLK stock opened at $18.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.00. Star Bulk Carriers has a twelve month low of $18.52 and a twelve month high of $27.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 81.08%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 84.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,761 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $212,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth approximately $263,000. BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,371,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.