Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Holdings Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,082 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Philosophy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,842,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter valued at $17,137,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 152.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 685,053 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,229,000 after acquiring an additional 413,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $10,833,000 after purchasing an additional 357,720 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 449,113 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $15.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.16. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $14.30 and a 1-year high of $27.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The business 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 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. On average, research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 12.54%.

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.