Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Safe Bulkers Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE SB opened at $7.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.47. Safe Bulkers has a 12 month low of $3.90 and a 12 month high of $8.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $803.03 million, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.84.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $87.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.50 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 28.29% and a return on equity of 9.63%.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This is a boost from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 189.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,404 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 8,122 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 90.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 452,122 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 214,652 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 663,731 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 17,897 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 43,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,625,000. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

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.