LPL Financial LLC Acquires 50,599 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 50,599 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.15% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $2,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,240,650 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,548,000 after buying an additional 147,659 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 813,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,154,000 after buying an additional 89,600 shares during the last quarter. Grand Alliance Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Grand Alliance Asset Management Ltd now owns 740,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,063,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,713 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,398,000 after buying an additional 104,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 436,244 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,522,000 after buying an additional 215,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.30.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $18.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.32. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $12.06 and a 12 month high of $23.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Star Bulk Carriers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.05%.

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.