Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.31 and last traded at $9.1350, with a volume of 1084781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $921.05 million, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.94.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.29%.The firm had revenue of $87.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This is an increase from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SB. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 63.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,543 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,917 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

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.