Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $3.97

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.97 and traded as high as $4.85. Safe Bulkers shares last traded at $4.75, with a volume of 828,159 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, 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 note on Tuesday, February 27th.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 2.2 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.59 million, a PE ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 1.02.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $82.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.70 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 27.20% and a return on equity of 9.05%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SB. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 1,074.3% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 8,220 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 7,520 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 514.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 583,167 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 488,221 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 23.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 155,725 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 29,945 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 4.4% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 287,631 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 12,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 52.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 135,507 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 46,333 shares during the last quarter. 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.