Bank of America Corp DE Has $3.01 Million Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,590 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 34,773 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.24% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 2.0%

SBLK opened at $16.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.62. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $12.06 and a fifty-two week high of $27.30.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $159.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.57 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

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.