Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.03, but opened at $17.53. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $17.53, with a volume of 577,516 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBLK. Stifel Nicolaus cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a research note 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 upped their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 3.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth about $57,000. 33.91% of the stock is 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.