Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,520 shares during the quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Star Bulk Carriers were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBLK opened at $16.55 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.03. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $14.30 and a fifty-two week high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. The company had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.91 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SBLK shares. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.30 to $20.20 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.05.

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.