Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $14.56 and last traded at $14.59, with a volume of 1465276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SBLK. StockNews.com upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DNB Markets raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.77.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.37%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.08%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBLK. Philosophy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at $24,842,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,212,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 335.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,221,255 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,774,000 after acquiring an additional 940,745 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 101.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,791,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,675,000 after acquiring an additional 903,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at about $17,137,000. Institutional investors 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.