Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Acquired by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,014 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter worth about $36,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $20.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.97. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $17.12 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $352.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.13%.

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.