Aristides Capital LLC Takes $208,000 Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% during the fourth 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the fourth 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 period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $13.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.03. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a twelve month low of $12.72 and a twelve month high of $27.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.31.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

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.