Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the February 13th total of 1,360,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 699,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 49.0% in 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. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth $86,000. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

SB traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $3.85. The stock had a trading volume of 287,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,054. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $404.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.94. Safe Bulkers has a fifty-two week low of $3.31 and a fifty-two week high of $6.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.63 and a 200-day moving average of $4.06.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 10.04%. The business had revenue of $69.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is 24.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SB. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price target on Safe Bulkers in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DNB Markets raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.