Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $5.16 and traded as high as $6.42. Safe Bulkers shares last traded at $6.3450, with a volume of 1,027,716 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SB. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Safe Bulkers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $648.83 million, a PE ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.03.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.14. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 13.99%.The firm had revenue of $72.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Safe Bulkers, Inc will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 73.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,088 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 4,692 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

About Safe Bulkers

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.