Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) Short Interest Up 20.6% in March

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,789,089 shares, a growth of 20.6% from the February 26th total of 1,484,027 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 873,969 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of SB stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.34. 596,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,843. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $6.68. The stock has a market cap of $647.81 million, a P/E ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.22.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14. The firm had revenue of $72.57 million for 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%. Equities analysts predict that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Safe Bulkers by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 27,292 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 6.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,017,000 after acquiring an additional 91,662 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 5.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 576,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 29,667 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 3.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 135,870 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

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.