Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $5.14, but opened at $4.90. Safe Bulkers shares last traded at $4.95, with a volume of 218,531 shares changing hands.

The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $81.67 million during the quarter. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 27.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 432.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 8.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122,158 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 9,826 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 47.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,320 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 14,001 shares during the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 3.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $556.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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.