Investors Buy High Volume of Star Bulk Carriers Call Options (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 6,785 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 242% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,982 call options.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $16.00 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $14.30 and a 12-month high of $27.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.00%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 81.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DNB Markets upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,630 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.