Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Hits New 1-Year High at $25.96

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 0.3 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $263.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.40 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 18.28% and a return on equity of 9.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.89%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 1.4% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 71,144 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 53,843 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 0.3% during the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 404,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,612 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.