Pacific Basin positive outlook

Hong Kong-based bulker owner Pacific Basin wad raised to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ in a research note issued Wednesday by Barclays.
Barclays sees the recent share price weakness as providing an opportunity to accumulate given the potential 23% upside to his revised price target of HK$4.30.
Barclays remains cautious on the outlook for the regional dry bulk industry and expects only a modest recovery in the BDI of 7% per annum in 2015 and 2016.
Pac Basin said demand growth of at least 6% to 7% was necessary for a sustainable recovery to take hold in the dry cargo market. Pac Basin said the “protracted” Indonesian export ban and reduced Chinese coal imports were reasons for concern. But on a positive note, it noted that dry bulk newbuilding activity in the third quarter was 62% below last year.