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

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the June 30th total of 2,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 100.0% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.4 %

SBLK opened at $22.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.96. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12 month low of $16.86 and a 12 month high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. The business had revenue of $259.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.78 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 12.19%. As a group, research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 135.14%.

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.