Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Short Interest Up 64.2% in March

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,140,000 shares, an increase of 64.2% from the February 28th total of 3,130,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBLK. Quarry LP grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 2.0 %

SBLK traded down $0.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 607,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,854,782. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.03. Star Bulk Carriers has a twelve month low of $14.30 and a twelve month high of $27.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 12.48%. Analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

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.