Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The shipping company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 10.04%.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

Safe Bulkers stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3.73. The company had a trading volume of 385,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,970. Safe Bulkers has a 1 year low of $3.02 and a 1 year high of $6.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $392.77 million, a P/E ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.67.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 valued at $2,126,000 after buying an additional 29,667 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,017,000 after purchasing an additional 91,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 27,292 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SB shares. DNB Markets upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.