Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 73,083 Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 73,083 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,731,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,630 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $14.97 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 5.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $14.59 and a 12 month high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.03%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 81.08%.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.