In early September, stocks in the long-beleaguered maritime shipping industry started to do something few observers expected them to do anytime soon — they started to rise in a meaningful way.#-ad_banner-# The rally from names like DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE) was driven by a meteoric rise in the Baltic Dry Index, which reflects the change in the daily charter rate for dry bulk vessels. The index nearly doubled in value between mid-August and this month, providing a glimmer of hope of decent profits for maritime shippers. But as is often… Read More
In early September, stocks in the long-beleaguered maritime shipping industry started to do something few observers expected them to do anytime soon — they started to rise in a meaningful way.#-ad_banner-# The rally from names like DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE) was driven by a meteoric rise in the Baltic Dry Index, which reflects the change in the daily charter rate for dry bulk vessels. The index nearly doubled in value between mid-August and this month, providing a glimmer of hope of decent profits for maritime shippers. But as is often the case with huge moves from stocks and indices, doubts started to set in about the sustainability of the Baltic Dry Index’s new price levels, and these stocks started to wane just as quickly as they’d heated up. However, the rise from the Baltic Dry Index wasn’t the result of a little volatility. A handful of other data indicate the supply/demand balance in the dry bulk shipping sector has finally found a happy medium, making DryShips, Eagle Bulk, FreeSeas (Nasdaq: FREE), Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) and a few other names in the group worth a closer long-term look. The Perfect… Read More