Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Purchases 16,700 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 89.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 16,700 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DNB Markets upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $17.22 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.17 and its 200-day moving average is $22.14. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $16.87 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.59%.

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.