There are glimmers of promise for 2017 dry bulk stocks, as highlighted by a recent report by Pareto of Norway that pointed out gains exceeding 20% in the past month by the likes of Diana Shipping and Golden Ocean Shipping (Diana Shipping [DSX] is even up 35% from a month ago at this writing to US$ 3.80 per share on the NYSE). Investor confidence in rising as well as an online poll by Splash 24/7 now shows dry bulk as the second most promising shipping sector in 2017 after LNG. Diana Shipping was nonetheless downgraded from a ‘buy’ to a ‘hold’ rating by Zacks Investment Research this week. Zacks also moved Star Bulk Carriers Corp. [SBLK] from a ‘buy’ to a ‘hold’ rating this week. The trend is still roughly upward, however, as noted by Alphabulk that the five largest listed bulker companies have climbed collectively by some 15% in the past four weeks. SBLK rose by 8.5% this week to US$ 6.71 on NASDAQ. Listed bulk carrier benchmark, DryShips Inc. [DRYS], on the other hand, dropped by more than 40% this week to close at US$ 1.84 per share on NASDAQ. Clearly, performance remains mixed and volatile among the bulker stocks, but the upside is undeniably stronger than it’s been in some time and adventurous investors are paying attention.
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