Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Hits New 12-Month High at $5.28

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.28 and last traded at $5.28, with a volume of 112608 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SB shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 2.6 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $621.67 million, a PE ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 0.99.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.01). Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $81.67 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 21.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

Safe Bulkers, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides marine drybulk transportation services. It owns and operates drybulk vessels for transporting bulk cargoes primarily coal, grain, and iron ore. The company has a fleet of 47 drybulk vessels having an aggregate carrying capacity of 4,719,600 deadweight tons.