Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The shipping company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $73.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.64 million. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 19.25%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

SB stock opened at $4.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $5.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.21.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SB. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $629,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,017,000 after acquiring an additional 91,662 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 13.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 687,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,053,000 after acquiring an additional 83,917 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 72.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 179,725 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 75,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manatuck Hill Partners LLC grew its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 47.0% in the second quarter. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC now owns 225,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 71,900 shares during the period. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Safe Bulkers

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.