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

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

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

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

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Safe Bulkers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,651,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,778,000 after acquiring an additional 617,711 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at $1,571,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter valued at $629,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at $564,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 182,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 100,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

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.