Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Issues Earnings Results

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.29%.The business had revenue of $87.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

NYSE:SB traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $8.41. 368,265 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,705. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Safe Bulkers has a 52 week low of $4.14 and a 52 week high of $9.31. The firm has a market cap of $856.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.82.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This is a positive change from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Safe Bulkers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,088 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 4,692 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

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.