Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.39, but opened at $15.58. Star Bulk Carriers shares last traded at $15.29, with a volume of 1,512,476 shares changing hands.

The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 24.75%.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBLK. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DNB Markets raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 190.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 7.7 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.95.

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.