Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,810 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 177.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,676 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $16.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.03. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.30 and a 1 year high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

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

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

About Star Bulk Carriers

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.