Star Bulk Carriers’ (SBLK) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

SBLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DNB Markets downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started 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 objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $18.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.00. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1-year low of $18.52 and a 1-year high of $27.47. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $20.77 and a 200-day moving average of $22.64.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 27.5% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,052,262 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,034,000 after buying an additional 442,860 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 101.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,791,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,675,000 after purchasing an additional 903,542 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 25.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,746,070 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 358,870 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 335.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,221,255 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,774,000 after purchasing an additional 940,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Philosophy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter worth about $24,842,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.