Dry bulk shipping has gotten a lot of press recently, following the plunge of the Dry Baltic Index. It's not the most exciting asset category around, but the dry bulk sector harbors some really interesting opportunities today.

In particular, let's look at three investments -- DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS), Paragon Shipping (Nasdaq: PRGN), and Navios Maritime (NYSE: NM) -- and try to see which one is the better buy at today's price.

Latest news
Despite the debacle in the Gulf, which DryShips expects to be a short-term negative, the company reported earnings and revenue yesterday that beat expectations. Although DryShips is commonly lumped in with the other drybulk shippers, almost half its revenue comes from its drilling segment. Thus, expect decreased earnings in the near future.

Many dry bulk shippers are trying to diversify their fleets by snatching up oil tankers by the handful. Navios Maritime doesn't report second-quarter earnings until later next month, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been busy. In mid-July, it announced that it had purchased two tanker vessels built in 2007. The company expects the vessels to be under three-year contracts, generating about $17,000 per day and a rough total of $6.9 million in EBIT.

Navios isn't the only company gobbling up vessels while ship prices are low. General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) also purchased five supertankers not long ago, and it's spending close to $620 million to increase its fleet size. Frontline (NYSE: FRO), another oil tanker firm, recently reported increased earnings amid lower spending and a boost in time charter equivalents.

Paragon Shipping announced last week that it has signed two-year contracts for two of its newly acquired container vessels. With regard to the contracts, Paragon CEO Michael Bodouroglou said:

We have successfully chartered both of our container vessels on time charters with favourable terms, that will secure substantial revenues enhancing our liquidity and earnings visibility. With the present charter arrangements our fleet's fixed revenue days in 2010 and 2011 are 100% and 92%, respectively. This is consistent with our target of delivering strong financial results by implementing our Company's time charter strategy.

Advantage: Navios Maritime

Balance sheet
DryShips has a 99% debt/equity ratio, while Navios has an even higher 163%. Paragon seems to be the most prudent of the bunch, employing a ratio of about 65%. Paragon also has the highest operating margins, at an impressive 51%, while Navios ekes out the lowest margin -- a paltry 15%. Last but not least, Paragon sports a current ratio of 3.5, meaning it will have no problem meeting short-term obligations. For comparison, DryShips has a 0.5 ratio -- not exactly comforting for investors.

Advantage: Paragon Shipping

Valuation
From a strict trailing P/E perspective, Paragon wins again, with a 3.4 multiple. However, each of the three companies has a P/E below 13, so they all look pretty attractive from this standpoint. The more expensive companies in the industry include Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE), with a P/E of 14; Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE: GNK) occupies the opposite end of the value spectrum, trading at just 3.7 times earnings. With the dry-bulk index trading for a general 5.2 multiple, both Genco and Paragon look undervalued with respect to their peers.

Advantage: Paragon Shipping

The Foolish bottom line
Although the Baltic index has ended its downward spiral, the expectation that demand from China and recovering economies would spur growth in dry bulk shippers clearly hasn't panned out. However, that doesn't mean that the companies above aren't seeing a nice pop in share price. Each of the three has shot up by more than 5% in the past month, and DryShips in particular has skyrocketed by 17%. Even though all three of these companies present deep value plays, I'm apt to go with Paragon Shipping on this one.

Feel differently about my conclusion? Let me hear it in the comment section below!