Critical Review: Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) & Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB)

Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) and Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.7% of Safe Bulkers shares are held by institutional investors. 40.3% of Safe Bulkers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Euronav and Safe Bulkers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Euronav	117.02%	22.29%	10.17%
Safe Bulkers	33.17%	11.58%	6.92%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Euronav and Safe Bulkers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Euronav	$982.85 million	1.91	$858.03 million	$5.93	1.57
Safe Bulkers	$284.40 million	1.34	$77.35 million	$0.90	3.96

Euronav has higher revenue and earnings than Safe Bulkers. Euronav is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Safe Bulkers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Euronav pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Safe Bulkers pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Euronav pays out 8.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Safe Bulkers pays out 22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Volatility and Risk

Euronav has a beta of -0.12, indicating that its share price is 112% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Safe Bulkers has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Euronav and Safe Bulkers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Euronav	0	0	0	0	0.00
Safe Bulkers	0	0	1	0	3.00

Safe Bulkers has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 68.30%. Given Safe Bulkers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Safe Bulkers is more favorable than Euronav.

About Euronav

Euronav NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil worldwide. The company offers floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) services. It also owns and operates a fleet of vessels. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. As of March 15, 2024, Euronav NV operates as subsidiary of CMB NV.

About Safe Bulkers

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. Its fleet consists of 10 Panamax class vessels, 11 Kamsarmax class vessels, 18 post-Panamax class vessels, and 8 Capesize class vessels. Safe Bulkers, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Monaco.