Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 653,794 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 93.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,514 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 653,794 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.05% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $14.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.19. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $12.06 and a 12 month high of $27.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. Analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.54%.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.