Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.05 per share by the shipping company on Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd.

Safe Bulkers has a dividend payout ratio of 23.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Safe Bulkers to earn $0.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.5%.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock opened at $6.16 on Thursday. Safe Bulkers has a 12 month low of $3.02 and a 12 month high of $6.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $630.35 million, a P/E ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.81.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.14. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $75.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,651,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,778,000 after buying an additional 617,711 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,571,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 16.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,441,089 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,202,000 after acquiring an additional 204,874 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the third quarter valued at approximately $629,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 806,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 118,681 shares during the last quarter. 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.