Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) Raises Dividend to $0.06 Per Share

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.06 per share by the shipping company on Thursday, July 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a 20.0% increase from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05.

Safe Bulkers has a dividend payout ratio of 23.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of SB opened at $6.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $662.84 million, a P/E ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.63. Safe Bulkers has a 1 year low of $3.56 and a 1 year high of $7.38.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 17th. The shipping company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $65.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.50 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 4.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,557,921 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $22,522,000 after acquiring an additional 68,155 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,651,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,778,000 after purchasing an additional 617,711 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Safe Bulkers by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,711 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 62,931 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Safe Bulkers by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,187,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,726,000 after purchasing an additional 36,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,112,000. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

About Safe Bulkers

Safe Bulkers Inc (NYSE: SB) is a dry bulk shipping company engaged in the ocean transport of commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain, and fertilizers. The company operates a modern fleet of vessels, including Panamax, Supramax and Kamsarmax bulk carriers, designed to serve a variety of trade routes and cargo types. Safe Bulkers’ fleet is employed under both time charter and voyage charter arrangements, offering flexibility to respond to market demand and optimize vessel utilization.

Founded in 2008, Safe Bulkers began trading its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in the same year, establishing itself as a publicly listed provider of dry bulk transportation services.