Safe Bulkers may have increased its quarterly payout to investors by only a penny per share, but it was a penny that meant something.
The dividend increase was one of the features in a better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report that led Citi shipping analyst Christian Wetherbee to upgrade his rating on the company to “buy” from “neutral”.
“This is the first increase since dividend cuts began in [the fourth quarter of 2008] and, while the increase does not materially impact shareholder returns, we believe it sends a solid signal that Safe Bulkers has confidence in the dry bulk recovery and it remains committed to returning capital to shareholders,” he said.
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