Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Safe Bulkers shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $8.29 and last trading near $8.23, compared with the moving average of $7.18.
• Analyst sentiment is a “Moderate Buy,” though one firm downgraded the stock to “buy”; the average price target of $6.00 is below the current share price.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.28 EPS and $87.47 million in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.075 for a 3.6% annualized yield.

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $7.18 and traded as high as $8.29. Safe Bulkers shares last traded at $8.2340, with a volume of 1,485,941 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Safe Bulkers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $838.47 million, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.18.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.29%.The firm had revenue of $87.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.0750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This is an increase from Safe Bulkers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 3.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,648,352 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,500,000 after purchasing an additional 57,381 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 87,356 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 20,307 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $301,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $919,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company's stock.

About Safe Bulkers

Safe Bulkers, Inc is a dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates ocean-going vessels used to transport bulk commodities. Its fleet serves the international maritime trade in cargoes such as coal, grain, iron ore, fertilizers and other raw materials and construction-related products.

Founded in 2007, the company operates a fleet that includes dry bulk vessel classes such as panamax, kamsarmax, ultramax and supramax ships. Safe Bulkers provides transportation services to customers around the world, with vessels trading on international routes and calling at ports across major global shipping regions.

Safe Bulkers is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Polys Hajioannou, who has been associated with the company since its establishment.

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