Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $75.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.00 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 5.18%.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $6.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 192,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,500. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market cap of $613.47 million, a P/E ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 1.13. Safe Bulkers has a one year low of $3.02 and a one year high of $6.20.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is 55.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,088 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Safe Bulkers from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Safe Bulkers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

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.