Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.68, but opened at $17.23. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $17.03, with a volume of 397,360 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SBLK shares. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced 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 business had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. On average, research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 12.54%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,575,000 after acquiring an additional 281,552 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $904,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,833,000 after acquiring an additional 357,720 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,784,000 after acquiring an additional 449,113 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,458.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 29,540 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.