Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Short Interest Up 28.1% in November

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, a growth of 28.1% from the November 15th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DNB Markets upgraded Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.80.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $15.15. 2,460,212 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,850. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $15.06 and a 52-week high of $27.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.12, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.01 and its 200 day moving average is $21.62.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 40.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 55,881 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 16,022 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 159.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 80,154 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 49,244 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 16,822 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,212,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.