Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on SBLK. DNB Markets raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $15.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.48. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $14.30 and a one year high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 83.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Michels Family Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 813,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,154,000 after acquiring an additional 89,600 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 22,094 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 8,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 74,159 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 21,489 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.