Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Announces Earnings Results

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $65.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.50 million. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 13.99%.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock opened at $6.48 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.69 and a 200-day moving average of $6.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.63. The company has a market capitalization of $662.84 million, a PE ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 0.85. Safe Bulkers has a 1-year low of $3.56 and a 1-year high of $7.38.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SB. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 5.9% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 765,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,399,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 104,626 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 4,651 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 73.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,088 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 4,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 3.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 135,870 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.