Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK – Get Free Report) and United Maritime (NASDAQ:USEA – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Star Bulk Carriers and United Maritime, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Star Bulk Carriers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3.25 |
| United Maritime | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus price target of $31.50, suggesting a potential upside of 1.45%. Given Star Bulk Carriers’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Star Bulk Carriers is more favorable than United Maritime.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Star Bulk Carriers | 23.87% | 11.72% | 7.61% |
| United Maritime | -5.07% | 2.31% | 0.86% |
Dividends
Star Bulk Carriers pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.6%. United Maritime pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.2%. Star Bulk Carriers pays out 141.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. United Maritime pays out -200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Maritime is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Volatility & Risk
Star Bulk Carriers has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Maritime has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Star Bulk Carriers and United Maritime”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Star Bulk Carriers | $1.20 billion | 2.93 | $84.17 million | $2.55 | 12.18 |
| United Maritime | $37.78 million | 0.71 | -$6.19 million | ($0.20) | -14.10 |
Star Bulk Carriers has higher revenue and earnings than United Maritime. United Maritime is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Star Bulk Carriers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
33.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.6% of United Maritime shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Star Bulk Carriers beats United Maritime on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Marousi, Greece.
About United Maritime
United Maritime Corporation, a shipping company, offers seaborne transportation services worldwide. It operates a fleet of eight dry bulk vessels comprising three Panamax, three Capesize, and two Kamsarmax vessels with an aggregate cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 922,054 dwt. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Glyfada, Greece.
Receive News & Ratings for Star Bulk Carriers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Star Bulk Carriers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
