Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Short Interest Update

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a drop of 21.3% from the February 13th total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 699,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $3.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 722,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.51 million, a P/E ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Safe Bulkers has a 1-year low of $3.31 and a 1-year high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. The business had revenue of $69.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is 24.10%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SB. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 27.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 18,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 3,913 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,293 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 4,680 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,987 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 6,534 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SB has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DNB Markets upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price target on Safe Bulkers in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.