Safe Bulkers Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Yellow, and because of an operating question rather than the share price. Nothing points to red: there is no going concern warning, shareholders equity is positive and grew in the first half of 2026 to $870.3 million, interest cover of 7.7 times sits far above the contractual floor of 2.0, and $142.9 million of cash plus $200.1 million of undrawn committed lines stand against a fleet scrap value of $313.6 million that almost covers net debt on its own. What is missing for green is reliability of earning power: net income swung between a loss of $84.7 million and a profit of $174.3 million over ten years on a fleet that has barely changed, and the company has deliberately left that swing unhedged — the average remaining charter duration was 0.4 years as of July 24, 2026 and only 10 percent of 2027 ownership days were contracted. Alongside it sits a cost line that does not breathe: $24.1 million of management fees in 2025 to a counterparty controlled by the chief executive, payable in loss-making years too, with the contract renewal in May 2027 still open. That is not a threat to the substance of the business but an open operating question — and between two levels the more cautious one applies. Whether the stock is expensive or cheap at this price deliberately plays no part in this rating. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Safe Bulkers runs 46 dry bulk carriers on a balance sheet that is conservative by industry standards: leverage of about 30 percent against vessel market values, interest cover of 7.7 times in the first half of 2026 and a dividend in every quarter since March 2022. Earnings remain unplannable all the same, because they hang almost entirely on the charter rate: $35.2 million of quarterly profit in the second quarter of 2026 after $1.7 million a year earlier, and a ten-year range from a loss of $84.7 million to a profit of $174.3 million. Little of that is hedged — the average remaining charter duration was 0.4 years and only 10 percent of 2027 ownership days were contracted. On top of that come $24.1 million of fixed management fees payable to a counterparty controlled by the chief executive and a credit covenant that writes family control into the loan documents. Not investment advice.
Balance sheet and financing
As of June 30, 2026 the books showed $870.3 million of shareholders equity, $142.9 million of cash and $200.1 million of undrawn committed credit lines; leverage stood at about 30 percent of vessel market values and interest cover at 7.7 times in the first half of 2026, against a contractual floor of 2.0. Even the pure scrap value of the fleet ($313.6 million) covers roughly 85 percent of net debt of $368.5 million.
Fleet and operations
Average age 10.4 years as of July 24, 2026, 14 vessels meeting the strictest IMO emission tiers and built from 2022 onward, 20 with scrubbers, ten newbuilds on order and 25 vessels upgraded. Daily operating expenses per vessel excluding dry-docking fell five percent to $5,297 in the first half of 2026.
Earnings quality and predictability
Net income swung between a loss of $84.7 million and a profit of $174.3 million from 2016 to 2025, and fell 60 percent to $38.6 million in 2025 alone. As of July 24, 2026 the average remaining duration of charter contracts was 0.4 years; 10 percent of 2027 ownership days were contracted and 3 percent of 2028.
Cost structure of the operating management
The company employs nobody itself and paid $24.1 million of management fees in 2025 (2024: $21.4 million) to three entities controlled by the chief executive — roughly 62 percent of net income. Per the annual report the fee is payable regardless of employment and profitability; the agreements end on May 29, 2027 and the successor terms are open.
Ownership and governance
The Hajioannou family held 47.5 percent as of May 15, 2026; the credit facilities permanently require 30 to 35 percent family ownership, a rights plan triggering at ten percent expressly exempts the Hajioannou brothers, and as a foreign private issuer the company may opt out of the NYSE requirement for a majority-independent board. A change of control is effectively ruled out.
Valuation and capital return
At the anchor price of $8.53 (August 21, 2026) market capitalization is about $868.6 million, the twelve-month price-to-earnings ratio about eleven and the price 1.13 times the common book value of $7.56 — arithmetically below the net asset value of roughly $11 to $12.50 derived from vessel market values. A dividend has been paid every quarter since March 2022, most recently 7.5 cents.
Worth Noting
The trigger was a hit from our Reddit hype scanner on August 22, 2026. No reliable mention count from a public measurement source was available at the editorial deadline; everything substantive in this analysis comes from the company SEC filings and ratios derived from them.
Safe Bulkers is a foreign private issuer incorporated under the law of the Marshall Islands and therefore files no 10-K and no 10-Q. This analysis rests on the annual report on Form 20-F for 2025 (filed March 4, 2026), the interim report on Form 6-K of July 29, 2026 with the figures to June 30, 2026, and further Form 6-K filings from 2026. Accounting is under U.S. GAAP in U.S. dollars and the fiscal year equals the calendar year.
Easy to confuse: three securities trade under the same name on the NYSE — the common stock SB and the preferred shares SB.PR.C and SB.PR.D, each carrying a fixed 8.00 percent coupon on a $25 par value. An eight percent yield refers to the preferred shares, not the common stock. Since June 2026 the common stock has also traded on Euronext Athens under the same symbol (ISIN MHY7388L1039).
Valuation data dated and evergreen: the price anchor of $8.53 is the close of August 21, 2026; multiplied by 101,833,473 shares (as of July 24, 2026) it gives $868.6 million and matches the market capitalization from fundamental data. The derived net asset value of roughly $11 to $12.50 a share is our own back-calculation from the company disclosure of leverage at around 30 percent of vessel market values and reacts sensitively to that rounding — it is an order of magnitude, not a price target.
Stock Watch
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 4.10 $ to 9.20 $ · Last price: 9.00 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Marine Shipping
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safe Bulkers Inc SB | 0.9 | – | 7.2 | 63.6 | – | -10.4 | 105.0 |
| Kirby Corporation KEX | 7.4 | 20.9 | 10.8 | 33.2 | 13.3 | 3.0 | 67.5 |
| Matson Inc MATX | 7.1 | 17.1 | 9.0 | 23.0 | 7.8 | -2.3 | 123.3 |
| Hafnia Limited HAFN | 4.9 | 10.8 | 5.5 | 31.9 | 22.3 | -18.1 | 77.2 |
| ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd ZIM | 3.7 | 38.0 | 3.8 | 31.0 | -1.0 | -18.1 | 112.0 |
| Star Bulk Carriers Corp SBLK | 3.6 | 12.5 | 8.2 | 47.3 | 39.7 | -17.6 | 71.6 |
| Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. ECO | 3.4 | 8.0 | 6.7 | 51.7 | 75.0 | -0.4 | 234.7 |
| Danaos Corporation DAC | 3.1 | 5.5 | 3.7 | 70.8 | 48.4 | 2.8 | 73.6 |
| Navios Maritime Partners LP NMM | 2.7 | 7.9 | 4.1 | 90.3 | 34.3 | 0.8 | 92.0 |
| Median of companies shown | 3.6 | 11.6 | 6.7 | 47.3 | 28.3 | -2.3 | 92.0 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 110 | -12 | -56 | -0.66 | 14 | 579 | 1,174 |
| 2017 | 148 | 24 | -85 | -0.84 | 49 | 456 | 1,035 |
| 2018 | 193 | 56 | 28 | 0.27 | 85 | 483 | 1,076 |
| 2019 | 198 | 45 | 16 | 0.16 | 58 | 490 | 1,115 |
| 2020 | 198 | 11 | -13 | -0.13 | 63 | 445 | 1,106 |
| 2021 | 329 | 172 | 174 | 1.53 | 217 | 679 | 1,094 |
| 2022 | 350 | 185 | 173 | 1.43 | 218 | 772 | 1,246 |
| 2023 | 284 | 94 | 77 | 0.68 | 122 | 793 | 1,340 |
| 2024 | 308 | 112 | 97 | 0.91 | 130 | 832 | 1,403 |
| 2025 | 276 | 69 | 39 | 0.37 | 102 | 831 | 1,403 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
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· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.18 | -26.40 | 72 | -13.10 | 27.10 | 27 | -14 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.07 | -69.90 | 64 | -21.20 | 11.30 | 30 | 30 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.02 | -93.60 | 66 | -16.30 | 2.60 | 19 | 19 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.17 | -26.10 | 73 | -3.70 | 24.30 | 20 | 20 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.12 | -36.50 | 73 | 1.50 | 16.30 | 33 | -9 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.22 | 215.20 | 74 | 15.60 | 29.90 | 33 | -9 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 14 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
- 21-EMA Trend
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- Mark Minervini: Trend Criteria — 1 Month
- Power Trend
- Stan Weinstein: Checklist
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 2
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 1.04 | 0.96 – 1.11 | 322 | 223.4% | 2 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.70 | 0.58 – 0.82 | 291 | -32.4% | 2 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 13.2% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $30.0M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $901.0M |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $104.0M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 60.8% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 36.1% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Safe Bulkers verchartert Trockenschüttgut-Frachter; in sechs durchgesehenen SEC-Einreichungen (20-F 2025 und 2024, vier Formulare 6-K aus 2026) beschreibt die Gesellschaft weder ein KI-Produkt noch einen eigenen KI-Einsatz — die einzige Nennung von „AI“ steht im 20-F 2025 in einer zitierten BIMCO-Marktprognose über die weltweite Investitionslage, nicht über das Unternehmen selbst.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
Filings Reviewed: 20-F 2026-03-04 · 20-F 2025-03-10 · 6-K 2026-07-29 · 6-K 2026-06-18 · 6-K 2026-05-11 · 6-K 2026-04-16
Rated on August 22, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years -7.6%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -10.6%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -5.1%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 11.5%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 35.9%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 0.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 2.9 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 142 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 5.2%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 47.5%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
3/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 10.8%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 2.7%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% –
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 36.8%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 5.6x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 9
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 80.9%
- Return on equity > 15% 4.6%
- ROCE > 15% 5.2%
- Expected return > 10% 45.9%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2026 | Hajioannou Polys | Chief Executive Officer | Other | 1,500,000 | – | – |
The company
About the Company
Safe Bulkers, Inc. , together with its subsidiaries, provides marine drybulk transportation services internationally.
- Employees
- 10
- Headquarters
- Monaco, Monaco
- Address
- Les Acanthes, 98000 Monaco, Monaco
- Phone
- 30 2 111 888 400
- Website
- safebulkers.com
- IPO Date
- 05/29/2008
- ISIN
- MHY7388L1039
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Polys Hajioannou | Chairman & CEO | 1967 |
| Loukas Barmparis | President, Secretary & Director | 1963 |
| Konstantinos Adamopoulos | CFO, Treasurer & Director | 1963 |
| Ioannis Foteinos | COO & Director | 1959 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.