Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.46 and traded as high as $17.42. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $17.40, with a volume of 1,691,012 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.32 and its 200-day moving average is $15.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.21. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $159.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth $904,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 1,458.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 29,540 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 290.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 48,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 36,186 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at about $970,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,082 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.