Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Posts Earnings Results

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The shipping company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 6.45%. The company had revenue of $87.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Trading Up 6.9%

SB stock opened at $7.98 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.40. Safe Bulkers has a fifty-two week low of $3.61 and a fifty-two week high of $7.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $816.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This is a boost from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Safe Bulkers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 645,834 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 36,356 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 68,984 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 32,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 296.2% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 41,018 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 30,664 shares during the last quarter. 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.