Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,140,000 shares, an increase of 64.2% from the February 28th total of 3,130,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SBLK. StockNews.com cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SBLK traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $15.98. 1,075,322 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,859,625. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.57. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $14.30 and a 1 year high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.91 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is 12.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Star Bulk Carriers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBLK. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 404,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,575,000 after purchasing an additional 281,552 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth about $904,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,833,000 after buying an additional 357,720 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,784,000 after acquiring an additional 449,113 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 1,458.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 29,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

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.