SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes $241,000 Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 39,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 12,185 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,082 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 84,221 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 9,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

SBLK stock opened at $15.37 on Thursday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52-week low of $14.30 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.