5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Star Bulk (ESEA, PRGN, SBLK)

5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Star Bulk

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 165,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, drybulk shipper Star Bulk Carriers (Nasdaq: SBLK ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Star Bulk's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Star Bulk facts

Headquarters	Athens, Greece
Market Cap	$178.4 million
Industry	Shipping
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$124.1 million
Management	CEO Prokopios Tsirigakis (since 2005) CFO George Syllantavos (since 2005)
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)	5.1%
Cash/Debt	$12.4 million / $215.0 million
Dividend Yield	6.8%
Competitors	Paragon Shipping (NYSE: PRGN ) Euroseas (Nasdaq: ESEA )

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 706 members who have rated Star Bulk believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include tctk1044 and jwc082.

Just a few months ago, tctk1044 highlighted Star Bulk as a shining opportunity:

This stock is cheap vs. book value with a high level of insider stock ownership... Couple that with growing profits and revenues over the past 3 years (through a, shall we say, rough economy especially for the shipping industry) and I think you have a pretty solid pick.

Fueled by the recent rebound in the Baltic Dry Index, shares of Star Bulk are up a healthy 20% over the past month alone. Even with that recent surge, however, the stock continues to sport a higher dividend yield than several of its fellow shippers like Paragon, Euroseas, and Navios Maritime. More importantly, CAPS members such as jwc082 believe Star Bulk has the financial strength to back up those payments:

From a purely fundamental standpoint, the company looks great. Strong dividend, fairly steady earnings, and an excellent price/book ratio. However, I wouldn't put any bets on when it's going to move upward -- but it seems like it's in a very good position to, from a valuation standpoint. The company recently sold off some of its fleet, too -- now they have more cash, but not sure how well it's managed. Greek shipping companies shouldn't be affected by any economic turmoil or austerity promises within Greece, because the Greek shipping industry isn't subject to [income tax] (a strange exception, but it makes for some disproportionately strong companies, to be sure).

What do you think about Star Bulk, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.