Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 13.99%.The business had revenue of $65.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:SB opened at $6.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $662.84 million, a PE ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.01. Safe Bulkers has a 12-month low of $3.56 and a 12-month high of $7.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Safe Bulkers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 645,834 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after purchasing an additional 36,356 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 68,984 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 32,001 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 296.2% in 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 period. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.