Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Short Interest Down 14.6% in September

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the August 31st total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 547,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

NYSE SB opened at $5.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4.97 and its 200-day moving average is $5.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $550.90 million, a PE ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.91. Safe Bulkers has a 12-month low of $3.10 and a 12-month high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $78.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 135.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,898,533 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,277 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 440.7% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,357 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after buying an additional 450,209 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 316.6% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 418,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 317,900 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 177,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 3,273.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 165,345 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 160,444 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.