Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.90 on September 3rd

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of 0.90 per share by the shipping company on Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This is a 80.0% increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Star Bulk Carriers has raised its dividend by an average of 0.4%annually over the last three years. Star Bulk Carriers has a payout ratio of 125.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Star Bulk Carriers to earn $3.47 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 103.7%.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.1%

SBLK opened at $30.13 on Wednesday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $30.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.72.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.26. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $284.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.29 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

About Star Bulk Carriers

Star Bulk Carriers Corp is a global shipping company engaged in the ocean transport of dry bulk commodities. The company owns and operates a diversified fleet of bulk carriers, including Handymax, Supramax, Panamax and Capesize vessels. Its ships are designed to carry a broad range of cargoes, such as iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite and phosphate, catering to industrial and agricultural customers worldwide.

The company’s vessels operate on major trade routes across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, connecting producers and consumers in Asia, Europe, North and South America.