XTX Topco Ltd Purchases Shares of 35,605 Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 35,605 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 7,313.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 455,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,784,000 after buying an additional 449,113 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers by 359.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 457,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,833,000 after acquiring an additional 357,720 shares during the last quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the fourth quarter worth about $1,495,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Star Bulk Carriers by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,947 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 7,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Star Bulk Carriers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Performance

Star Bulk Carriers stock opened at $13.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.77. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $12.06 and a 12 month high of $27.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $308.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. Research analysts expect that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.54%.

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.