Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, a decrease of 62.3% from the March 31st total of 5,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

SBLK stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.71. 1,315,816 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,686,426. Star Bulk Carriers has a twelve month low of $16.57 and a twelve month high of $25.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $263.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.40 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 18.28%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid 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 dividend yield of 7.28%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 101.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $83,000. 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.