Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised Safe Bulkers from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of SB stock opened at $5.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.18. Safe Bulkers has a 12 month low of $2.97 and a 12 month high of $5.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $579.26 million, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.99.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 27.85%. The business had revenue of $81.67 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Safe Bulkers will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 8.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122,158 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 9,826 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,320 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 14,001 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

Safe Bulkers, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides marine drybulk transportation services. It owns and operates drybulk vessels for transporting bulk cargoes primarily coal, grain, and iron ore. The company has a fleet of 47 drybulk vessels having an aggregate carrying capacity of 4,719,600 deadweight tons.