Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Receives Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $28.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, DNB Markets cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of SBLK opened at $18.97 on Wednesday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $27.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Quarry LP lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,630 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.