Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.05

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 19th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.05 per share by the shipping company on Friday, June 20th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%.

Safe Bulkers has a dividend payout ratio of 24.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Safe Bulkers to earn $0.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.5%.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $3.73. 395,491 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,982. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $392.77 million, a P/E ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.67. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 19th. The shipping company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 5.4% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 91,662 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 67.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

About Safe Bulkers

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.