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

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.05 per share by the shipping company on Friday, December 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th.

Safe Bulkers has a dividend payout ratio of 23.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Price Performance

NYSE:SB traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.20. 1,043,318 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 472,938. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.21. Safe Bulkers has a 1-year low of $3.02 and a 1-year high of $5.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.17 million, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.23.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The shipping company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 19.25% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $73.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 2,423 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 7.3% in the first quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 45,344 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 13.6% during the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,459 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 0.9% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 459,138 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 765,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,399,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.