Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.87 and last traded at $8.7550, with a volume of 166718 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Safe Bulkers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $927.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.51 and a 200 day moving average of $6.88.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $87.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SB. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 63.4% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the second quarter valued at approximately $919,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the second quarter worth approximately $4,458,000. Institutional investors 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.