Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s share price traded down 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $18.47 and last traded at $18.5340. 777,400 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 1,489,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 4.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.38.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 98.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at about $281,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers during the 3rd quarter worth about $994,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.