Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,180,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the August 31st total of 2,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 14.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 199,760 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after buying an additional 25,106 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth $794,000. Marketfield Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Marketfield Asset Management LLC now owns 172,145 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,660,000 after acquiring an additional 51,639 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 112.7% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 792,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,915,000 after purchasing an additional 420,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 472.3% in the fourth quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 82,364 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 67,973 shares during the period. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $23.54 on Monday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1-year low of $17.91 and a 1-year high of $27.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.97. 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 (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The shipping company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $352.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.38 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 13.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers will post 3.32 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.89%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.13%.

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.