Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Price

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 31.25% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $16.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $14.30 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.49.

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). The company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.85% and a net margin of 24.08%. On average, equities analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP raised its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.