Safe Bulkers’ (SB) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $5.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. DNB Markets raised Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 target price on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

SB stock opened at $3.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Safe Bulkers has a 12-month low of $3.02 and a 12-month high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 19th. The shipping company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $64.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.92 million. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 546,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after buying an additional 26,595 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,987 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 6,534 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 213,359 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is 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.