Comparing Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) & Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX)

Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) and Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Odyssey Marine Exploration has a beta of -0.84, meaning that its stock price is 184% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Star Bulk Carriers has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Odyssey Marine Exploration and Star Bulk Carriers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Odyssey Marine Exploration	$770,000.00	128.13	$15.66 million	($0.78)	-2.27
Star Bulk Carriers	$1.27 billion	2.07	$304.65 million	$0.52	42.88

Star Bulk Carriers has higher revenue and earnings than Odyssey Marine Exploration. Odyssey Marine Exploration 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.

Profitability

This table compares Odyssey Marine Exploration and Star Bulk Carriers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Odyssey Marine Exploration	-6,569.59%	N/A	-191.52%
Star Bulk Carriers	5.85%	2.66%	1.64%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Odyssey Marine Exploration and Star Bulk Carriers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Odyssey Marine Exploration	1	0	0	0	1.00
Star Bulk Carriers	0	2	1	0	2.33

Star Bulk Carriers has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.35%. Given Star Bulk Carriers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Star Bulk Carriers is more favorable than Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Summary

Star Bulk Carriers beats Odyssey Marine Exploration on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, discovers, validates, and develops seafloor mineral resources worldwide. The company provides specialized mineral exploration, project development, and marine services to clients. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

About Star Bulk Carriers

Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. Its vessels transport a range of bulk commodities, including iron ores, minerals and grains, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of 116 dry bulk vessels with combined carrying capacity of 13.1 million deadweight tonnage (dwt) consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 53,489 dwt and 209,537 dwt. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Marousi, Greece.