Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $7.09 and traded as high as $9.26. Safe Bulkers shares last traded at $9.1650, with a volume of 2,279,254 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safe Bulkers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $933.27 million, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.09.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $87.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.50 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 28.29% and a return on equity of 9.63%.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is 38.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 2.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,557,921 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,522,000 after purchasing an additional 68,155 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the second quarter valued at $22,450,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the second quarter valued at $5,690,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at $5,112,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the second quarter valued at $4,458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

About Safe Bulkers

Safe Bulkers, Inc is a dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates ocean-going vessels used to transport bulk commodities. Its fleet serves the international maritime trade in cargoes such as coal, grain, iron ore, fertilizers and other raw materials and construction-related products.

Founded in 2007, the company operates a fleet that includes dry bulk vessel classes such as panamax, kamsarmax, ultramax and supramax ships. Safe Bulkers provides transportation services to customers around the world, with vessels trading on international routes and calling at ports across major global shipping regions.

Safe Bulkers is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Polys Hajioannou, who has been associated with the company since its establishment.