33,800 Shares in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Acquired by Oppenheimer & Close LLC

Oppenheimer & Close LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 33,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in 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 during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 3.3 %

SBLK stock opened at $16.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.70. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.30 and a 52 week high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. The firm had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SBLK. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

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.