Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Acquires Shares of 222,010 Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 222,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,259,000. Star Bulk Carriers comprises about 2.1% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,630 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 404,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. DNB Markets lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.33.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $20.64 on Tuesday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $17.91 and a 12 month high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.44. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.98.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $352.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.57%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.94%.

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.