Analysts Just Shaved Their Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) Forecasts Dramatically

The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK), with the analysts making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting the analysts have soured majorly on the business.

Following the latest downgrade, the four analysts covering Star Bulk Carriers provided consensus estimates of US$889m revenue in 2025, which would reflect a disturbing 27% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to plunge 44% to US$1.44 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$995m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.23 in 2025. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about Star Bulk Carriers' prospects, administering a substantial drop in revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot.

Check out our latest analysis for Star Bulk Carriers

The consensus price target fell 7.0% to US$22.84, with the weaker earnings outlook clearly leading analyst valuation estimates.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 22% by the end of 2025. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 8.6% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue decline 1.6% annually for the foreseeable future. So it's pretty clear that Star Bulk Carriers' revenues are expected to shrink faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Unfortunately they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our aggregation of analyst estimates suggests that Star Bulk Carriers revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider market. After such a stark change in sentiment from analysts, we'd understand if readers now felt a bit wary of Star Bulk Carriers.

There might be good reason for analyst bearishness towards Star Bulk Carriers, like major dilution from new stock issuance in the past year. For more information, you can click here to discover this and the 1 other warning sign we've identified.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.