Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.60 on December 18th

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.60 per share by the shipping company on Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th.

Star Bulk Carriers has increased its dividend by an average of 215.5% annually over the last three years. Star Bulk Carriers has a payout ratio of 73.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Star Bulk Carriers to earn $3.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 87.5%.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ SBLK traded down $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $18.73. 2,358,270 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,602,274. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12 month low of $18.52 and a 12 month 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 market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.80 and a 200-day moving average of $22.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SBLK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.80.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.