Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, GLNG or SBLK?

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

Do insiders & institutionals believe in GLNG or SBLK?

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

Which has better valuation & earnings, GLNG or SBLK?

Star Bulk Carriers has higher revenue and earnings than Golar LNG. Star Bulk Carriers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Golar LNG, 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
Golar LNG	$260.37M	16.25	$50.84M	$0.03	1,349.33
Star Bulk Carriers	$1.27B	1.71	$304.65M	$1.98	9.30

Do analysts prefer GLNG or SBLK?

Golar LNG currently has a consensus target price of $53.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.93%. Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus target price of $22.05, suggesting a potential upside of 19.71%. Given Golar LNG's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Golar LNG is more favorable than Star Bulk Carriers.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Golar LNG	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.33
Star Bulk Carriers	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media prefer GLNG or SBLK?

In the previous week, Star Bulk Carriers had 2 more articles in the media than Golar LNG. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Star Bulk Carriers and 5 mentions for Golar LNG. Star Bulk Carriers' average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat Golar LNG's score of 0.21 indicating that Star Bulk Carriers is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Is GLNG or SBLK more profitable?

Star Bulk Carriers has a net margin of 18.62% compared to Golar LNG's net margin of 1.04%. Star Bulk Carriers' return on equity of 8.20% beat Golar LNG's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golar LNG	1.04%	6.82%	3.98%
Star Bulk Carriers	18.62%	8.20%	4.92%

Is GLNG or SBLK a better dividend stock?

Golar LNG pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Star Bulk Carriers pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Golar LNG pays out 3,333.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Star Bulk Carriers pays out 10.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Golar LNG has raised 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.

Summary

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