Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.25 EPS

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The shipping company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.25, Fidelity Earnings reports. Star Bulk Carriers had a net margin of 52.61% and a return on equity of 43.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Up 3.3 %

SBLK opened at $25.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.45. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $17.80 and a 1 year high of $33.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Star Bulk Carriers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.65 per share. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 25.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 24th. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.86%.

Institutional Trading of Star Bulk Carriers

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 861.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 130,578 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,877,000 after acquiring an additional 116,993 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 101.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 72,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 36,528 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $290,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the first quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 46.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 791,111 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,488,000 after acquiring an additional 249,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $37.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

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Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. The company's vessels transport a range of major bulks, including iron ores, coal, and grains, as well as minor bulks, such as bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2021, it had a fleet of 128 vessels with an aggregate capacity of approximately 14.1 million deadweight tons, including 17 Newcastlemax, 24 Capesize, 7 Post Panamax, 41 Kamsarmax, 2 Panamax, 20 Ultramax, and 17 Supramax vessels.