Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Raised to “Hold” at DNB Markets

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) was upgraded by research analysts at DNB Markets from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $20.20 target price on the shipping company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $19.30. DNB Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.43% from the stock’s previous close.

SBLK has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.4 %

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $18.63 on Thursday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12 month low of $18.52 and a 12 month high of $27.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth $57,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,833,000 after purchasing an additional 357,720 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,784,000 after buying an additional 449,113 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,731,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $648,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.