Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.60 and last traded at $6.6030, with a volume of 232116 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SB shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $681.01 million, a P/E ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.47 and its 200-day moving average is $4.92.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14. The firm had revenue of $72.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.00 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 4.91%. Analysts predict that Safe Bulkers, Inc will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $522,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,441,089 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,202,000 after buying an additional 204,874 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers in the second quarter valued at about $120,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Hedge funds and other 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.