Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• Safe Bulkers reported quarterly earnings of $0.01 per share, missing analysts' expectations of $0.09 by a notable margin.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, leading to an annual dividend yield of 4.76%.
• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 6%, contributing to a growing interest from institutional investors, which now hold 21.69% of the company's stock.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The shipping company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 19.25% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $65.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.40 million.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SB traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $3.91. The company had a trading volume of 356,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,022. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.72 million, a PE ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $5.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $3.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.67.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 3.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 135,870 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 5.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 576,229 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,126,000 after buying an additional 29,667 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,636 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,017,000 after acquiring an additional 91,662 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,052 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 27,292 shares during the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.