Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 24.75%.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ SBLK traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, hitting $16.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,313,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,247. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $14.30 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.95.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.80.

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.