Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,492,367 shares, a decrease of 23.8% from the March 15th total of 1,957,307 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,572,937 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $24.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 0.78. Star Bulk Carriers has a 52-week low of $13.37 and a 52-week high of $27.20.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $230.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.51 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 3.89% and a net margin of 8.07%. Analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is a boost from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 202.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SBLK. Zacks Research cut Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 94.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 56,930 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,298,436 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,204,000 after acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 673.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 49,471 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 43,072 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,444,000. Institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp is a global shipping company engaged in the ocean transport of dry bulk commodities. The company owns and operates a diversified fleet of bulk carriers, including Handymax, Supramax, Panamax and Capesize vessels. Its ships are designed to carry a broad range of cargoes, such as iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite and phosphate, catering to industrial and agricultural customers worldwide.

The company’s vessels operate on major trade routes across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, connecting producers and consumers in Asia, Europe, North and South America.