Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Stock Price Up 4.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)’s stock price shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $27.27 and last traded at $27.26. 450,444 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,505,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.09.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SBLK. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Star Bulk Carriers from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Thursday.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 8.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 4,127 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at $1,371,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at $263,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at $790,000. 33.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.07. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.52.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.12%. Star Bulk Carriers’s payout ratio is 81.08%.

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.