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

Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.28 and last traded at $5.28, with a volume of 112608 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $599.35 million, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.99.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $81.67 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 432.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 47.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,320 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 14,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

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.