Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on STRR. Weiss Ratings cut Star Equity from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Litchfield Hills Research increased their price target on Star Equity from $21.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Noble Financial raised shares of Star Equity to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Star Equity Stock Up 5.7%

Star Equity stock opened at $11.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.74 and its 200-day moving average is $10.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.07 million, a PE ratio of -4.22 and a beta of 0.43. Star Equity has a fifty-two week low of $8.26 and a fifty-two week high of $11.99.

Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($1.04). The firm had revenue of $50.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.57 million. Star Equity had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a negative return on equity of 4.04%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Star Equity will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Star Equity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey E. Eberwein acquired 4,198 shares of Star Equity stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $45,758.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,059,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,547,285.60. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,031 shares of company stock worth $235,773 and have sold 23,000 shares worth $229,020. 33.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Star Equity

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Star Equity in the 4th quarter valued at $140,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Equity during the fourth quarter worth $268,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Star Equity during the fourth quarter worth $276,000. RBF Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Star Equity in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Star Equity in the fourth quarter valued at about $352,000. 3.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Star Equity News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Star Equity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Litchfield Hills Research reiterated a Buy rating and $28 price objective, signaling continued analyst confidence in Star Equity’s longer-term upside.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm raised its Q2 2027 EPS estimate to $0.20 from $0.11 and increased its Q1 2027 loss estimate improvement to ($0.26) from ($0.36), suggesting some sequential earnings improvement.
• Positive Sentiment: Litchfield Hills Research kept its very bullish long-term view, forecasting FY2028 EPS of $1.60, FY2029 EPS of $1.75, FY2030 EPS of $1.85, and FY2027 EPS of $0.56.
• Neutral Sentiment: The current-year consensus remains for a small loss of ($0.05) per share, indicating that investors are still looking for a turnaround rather than near-term profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: The analyst lowered multiple near-term estimates, including Q2 2026 EPS to ($0.15) from $0.05, Q3 2026 EPS to $0.61 from $0.77, Q4 2026 EPS to $0.46 from $0.73, and FY2026 EPS to ($0.05) from $1.11, which may temper enthusiasm about the pace of recovery.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 2027 EPS was cut sharply to $0.11 from $0.71, and FY2027 EPS was reduced to $0.56 from $1.46, highlighting softer expectations in parts of the forecast.

Star Equity Company Profile

Hudson Global, Inc is a publicly traded talent acquisition and recruitment firm that provides a range of staffing and workforce solutions to organizations around the world. Operating primarily through two service lines—recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and retained executive search—the company connects employers with qualified professionals across a variety of disciplines, including finance, accounting, technology, human resources and legal. Its flexible engagement models encompass project-based sourcing, volume hiring and high-level leadership searches, enabling clients to tailor recruitment strategies to their specific business objectives.

With a global footprint spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, Hudson Global supports multinational corporations as well as regional and niche market clients.