Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Short Interest Update

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 28.1% from the November 15th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.5% in the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SBLK. 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 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.9 %

Star Bulk Carriers stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,460,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,606. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.59. 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 twelve month low of $15.06 and a twelve month high of $27.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.12, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.08%.

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.