Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

SBLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DNB Markets raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.9 %

SBLK opened at $15.15 on Thursday. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $15.06 and a one year high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.62.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after buying an additional 281,552 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at $649,000. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,259,000. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 295,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,192,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth $892,000. 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.