Atlas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $36,000 in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBLK. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,787.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $24.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.44. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.57 and a 12-month high of $27.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 20.57%. The business had revenue of $259.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.78 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.28%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.14%.

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.