Raymond James & Associates Trims Stock Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,086 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 7,691 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at $7,752,000. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 291,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,617,000 after buying an additional 48,691 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth about $5,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 61.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 204,808 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 77,717 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,977,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of SBLK opened at $23.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.50. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1-year low of $16.57 and a 1-year high of $25.16.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.16. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $263.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.68%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.70%.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.