Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.64 and last traded at $8.5450, with a volume of 112309 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $885.41 million, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $7.30 and a 200 day moving average of $6.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 28.29% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The business 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This is an increase from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,557,921 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,522,000 after acquiring an additional 68,155 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,450,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,651,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,778,000 after purchasing an additional 617,711 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 5.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,711 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 62,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Safe Bulkers by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,187,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,726,000 after purchasing an additional 36,356 shares during the period. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

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.