Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Lowered to “Hold” at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $21.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $30.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on SBLK. DNB Markets lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.67.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $19.20 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.33 and its 200-day moving average is $23.26. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $17.91 and a 12-month high of $27.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.58%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 102.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 199,760 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after buying an additional 25,106 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at $794,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 112.7% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 792,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,915,000 after purchasing an additional 420,100 shares in the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at about $5,259,000. Finally, Fifth Lane Capital LP acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter worth about $1,856,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.