Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Hits New 12-Month High at $25.96

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.96 and last traded at $25.96, with a volume of 521316 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.84. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.07.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.16. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 18.28%. The company had revenue of $263.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Golden Green Inc. lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 2.6% during the third quarter. Golden Green Inc. now owns 46,347 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at $214,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 53,843 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 291,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,617,000 after acquiring an additional 48,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 204,808 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 77,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.