Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Safe Bulkers shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $9.26 and last trading at $9.165, compared with a 200-day average of $7.09.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.28 in EPS versus the $0.22 consensus and revenue of $87.47 million versus $77.50 million expected.
• Safe Bulkers increased its quarterly dividend to $0.075 per share, representing a 3.3% yield, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $6.00 price target.

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $7.09 and traded as high as $9.26. Safe Bulkers shares last traded at $9.1650, with a volume of 2,279,254 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Safe Bulkers has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.09. The company has a market capitalization of $933.27 million, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Safe Bulkers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,557,921 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $22,522,000 after buying an additional 68,155 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,450,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at $5,112,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter worth $5,690,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 806,379 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,887,000 after acquiring an additional 118,681 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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