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Are Investors Undervaluing Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK - Free Report) . SBLK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.96, which compares to its industry's average of 6.28. Over the past 52 weeks, SBLK's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.81 and as low as 3.07, with a median of 6.05.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SBLK's P/B ratio of 0.98. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.13. Over the past year, SBLK's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.88, with a median of 0.98.

Teekay Tankers (TNK - Free Report) may be another strong Transportation - Shipping stock to add to your shortlist. TNK is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Teekay Tankers currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 5.80, and its PEG ratio is 1.93. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 6.28 and 0.35.

TNK's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 7.29 and as low as 1.98, with a median of 4.05, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.43 and as low as 0.66, with a median of 1.35, all within the past year.

Additionally, Teekay Tankers has a P/B ratio of 1.27 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 1.13. For TNK, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.51, as low as 0.85, with a median of 1.07 over the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Star Bulk Carriers and Teekay Tankers are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, SBLK and TNK feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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