Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $970,000 Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 64,871 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $970,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.08% of Star Bulk Carriers as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,137,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 152.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 685,053 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,229,000 after buying an additional 413,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,833,000 after buying an additional 357,720 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after acquiring an additional 281,552 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

SBLK stock opened at $13.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.36. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.72 and a 52 week high of $27.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.56 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. Research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

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.