Zacks Research Downgrades Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) to Strong Sell

Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Litchfield Hills Research boosted their price target on Star Equity from $21.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Star Equity from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Noble Financial raised Star Equity to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Star Equity Stock Up 5.7%

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

Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($1.04). The company had revenue of $50.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.57 million. Star Equity had a negative return on equity of 4.04% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Star Equity will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Star Equity

In other Star Equity news, CEO Jeffrey E. Eberwein purchased 4,198 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $45,758.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,059,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,547,285.60. This represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 23,031 shares of company stock valued at $235,773 and have sold 23,000 shares valued at $229,020. Insiders own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Star Equity

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STRR. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Star Equity during the fourth quarter worth about $3,538,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Star Equity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $886,000. Rothschild Wealth LLC bought a new position in Star Equity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Star Equity during the 4th quarter worth approximately $629,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Star Equity during the 1st quarter worth approximately $565,000. Institutional investors own 3.84% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Star Equity

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.