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

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a drop of 21.6% from the September 15th total of 2,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. DNB Markets cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.33.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

SBLK stock traded down $0.71 on Tuesday, hitting $19.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,713,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,444. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.98. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.41. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12-month low of $17.91 and a 12-month high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $352.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 102.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at $54,000. 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.