Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised Safe Bulkers from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $4.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of SB stock opened at $5.05 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $563.63 million, a PE ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.99. Safe Bulkers has a 12 month low of $2.97 and a 12 month high of $5.24.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $81.67 million during the quarter. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 27.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Safe Bulkers will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Safe Bulkers by 63.3% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 459,112 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,277,000 after buying an additional 177,940 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 216,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 86,966 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 122,158 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 9,826 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at about $401,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 1st quarter valued at about $498,000. 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.