Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires 8,376 Shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,011 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 8,376 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

NASDAQ SBLK opened at $15.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.78 and a 200 day moving average of $17.44. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a one year low of $14.30 and a one year high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. 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 payout ratio is 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.