StockNews.com Downgrades Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) to Hold

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. DNB Markets raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of SBLK opened at $15.15 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1-year low of $15.06 and a 1-year high of $27.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,575,000 after purchasing an additional 281,552 shares during the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth approximately $649,000. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth approximately $5,259,000. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 34.1% in the second quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 295,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,192,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth approximately $892,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.