Star Bulk Carriers Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 2,570 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the typical volume of 1,342 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SBLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Star Bulk Carriers in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $18.09 on Friday. Star Bulk Carriers has a 1 year low of $12.06 and a 1 year high of $20.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.67 and its 200-day moving average is $18.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79 and a beta of 0.75.

Star Bulk Carriers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Star Bulk Carriers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the third quarter worth $73,967,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new position in shares of Star Bulk Carriers during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,949,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Bulk Carriers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,227,000. Amundi increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,868,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,548,000 after buying an additional 693,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,734,000. 33.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Star Bulk Carriers Company 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.