Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Grows Stock Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,388 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grand Alliance Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,756,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $18,915,000 after acquiring an additional 420,100 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth $7,752,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at $5,042,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 3rd quarter worth $1,977,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.2 %

SBLK opened at $24.38 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.57 and a fifty-two week high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.28 and its 200 day moving average is $23.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. The business had revenue of $259.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.78 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 20.57%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.14%.

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.