Blue Trust Inc. Buys 1,328 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 190.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBLK. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,052,262 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,034,000 after buying an additional 442,860 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 101.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,791,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,675,000 after purchasing an additional 903,542 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,746,070 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 358,870 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 335.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,221,255 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,774,000 after buying an additional 940,745 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,025,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,009,000 after purchasing an additional 233,000 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.67.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $19.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $17.91 and a one year high of $27.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.07.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The firm had revenue of $352.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 102.94%.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.