Raiffeisen Bank International AG Increases Position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $SBLK

Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) by 14.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,918 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned approximately 0.05% of Star Bulk Carriers worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SBLK. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Star Bulk Carriers in the second quarter valued at $57,227,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,868,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $26,548,000 after buying an additional 693,683 shares during the last quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,519,259 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,640,000 after acquiring an additional 139,930 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 59.7% in the 1st 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 valued at $20,204,000 after acquiring an additional 485,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 938,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $14,599,000 after acquiring an additional 336,873 shares during the last quarter. 33.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.10.

Star Bulk Carriers Trading Up 0.8%

SBLK opened at $19.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.06 and a 52 week high of $20.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.96. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 0.92.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Star Bulk Carriers 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.