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

Key Points

• Safe Bulkers, Inc has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $0.20 and a yield of 5.17%. The dividend will be paid to stockholders on September 5th, with an ex-dividend date of August 21st.
• The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates of $0.08, while revenue reached $65.75 million, exceeding expectations of $60.40 million.
• Safe Bulkers maintains a dividend payout ratio of 23.8%, indicating that its dividend is well-supported by earnings, with future estimates suggesting a continued ability to cover the dividend.

Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of 0.05 per share by the shipping company on Friday, September 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st.

Safe Bulkers has a dividend payout ratio of 23.8% meaning 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 Stock Performance

Safe Bulkers stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3.91. 356,721 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,022. Safe Bulkers has a 1 year low of $3.02 and a 1 year high of $5.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $400.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $3.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.67.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.07). Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $65.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.40 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 243,159 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 29,800 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 1st quarter worth $248,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 128.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 288,541 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 162,351 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 490,911 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 93,777 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,008 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company's stock.

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.