Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.65 on September 8th

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 4th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 25th will be given a dividend of 1.65 per share by the shipping company on Thursday, September 8th. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 25.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 24th.

Star Bulk Carriers has a payout ratio of 118.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Star Bulk Carriers to earn $5.77 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $6.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 114.4%.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:SBLK traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.58. 3,245,235 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,678,676. Star Bulk Carriers has a one year low of $17.80 and a one year high of $33.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.45. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The shipping company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.25. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 52.61% and a return on equity of 43.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SBLK shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $37.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 29.2% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,656 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 3.2% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 25,305 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the first quarter valued at approximately $73,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 179,150.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 3,585 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 18.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 31,072 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. 49.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. The company's vessels transport a range of major bulks, including iron ores, coal, and grains, as well as minor bulks, such as bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2021, it had a fleet of 128 vessels with an aggregate capacity of approximately 14.1 million deadweight tons, including 17 Newcastlemax, 24 Capesize, 7 Post Panamax, 41 Kamsarmax, 2 Panamax, 20 Ultramax, and 17 Supramax vessels.