Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) Competitors

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) and Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) are related mid-cap companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Do analysts recommend SBLK or GLNG?

Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus target price of $22.30, suggesting a potential upside of 16.63%. Golar LNG has a consensus target price of $51.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.85%. Given Star Bulk Carriers' higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Star Bulk Carriers is more favorable than Golar LNG.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Star Bulk Carriers	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Golar LNG	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is SBLK or GLNG more profitable?

Star Bulk Carriers has a net margin of 10.98% compared to Golar LNG's net margin of -2.83%. Golar LNG's return on equity of 6.36% beat Star Bulk Carriers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Star Bulk Carriers	10.98%	4.97%	3.03%
Golar LNG	-2.83%	6.36%	3.44%

Which has better earnings and valuation, SBLK or GLNG?

Star Bulk Carriers has higher revenue and earnings than Golar LNG. Golar LNG 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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Star Bulk Carriers	$1.27B	1.78	$304.65M	$1.05	18.21
Golar LNG	$260.37M	18.00	$50.84M	-$0.07	-640.57

Which has more volatility & risk, SBLK or GLNG?

Star Bulk Carriers has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Golar LNG has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SBLK or GLNG a better dividend stock?

Star Bulk Carriers pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Golar LNG pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Star Bulk Carriers pays out 19.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Golar LNG pays out -1,428.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Golar LNG has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Golar LNG is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of SBLK or GLNG?

33.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Golar LNG shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Golar LNG shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer SBLK or GLNG?

In the previous week, Golar LNG had 17 more articles in the media than Star Bulk Carriers. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for Golar LNG and 4 mentions for Star Bulk Carriers. Star Bulk Carriers' average media sentiment score of 1.10 beat Golar LNG's score of 0.33 indicating that Star Bulk Carriers is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Star Bulk Carriers	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Golar LNG	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Golar LNG beats Star Bulk Carriers on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.