Short Interest in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Expands By 26.9%

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, an increase of 26.9% from the May 31st total of 1,860,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 622,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Welch Group LLC raised its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Safe Bulkers by 432.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 12,210 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

NYSE:SB traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $6.03. 164,894 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 759,293. Safe Bulkers has a 1-year low of $2.97 and a 1-year high of $6.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.58 and a 200 day moving average of $4.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $643.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.92.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $81.67 million during the quarter. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 10.29%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

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.