Safe Bulkers, Inc.'s (NYSE:SB) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.05 per share on 21st of March. The dividend yield is 5.3% based on this payment, which is a little bit low compared to the other companies in the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Safe Bulkers

Safe Bulkers' Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable. Before making this announcement, Safe Bulkers was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 49.3%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 17%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from $0.22 total annually to $0.20. Payments have been decreasing at a very slow pace in this time period. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. It's encouraging to see that Safe Bulkers has been growing its earnings per share at 82% a year over the past five years. A low payout ratio gives the company a lot of flexibility, and growing earnings also make it very easy for it to grow the dividend.

Safe Bulkers Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Safe Bulkers might even raise payments in the future. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for Safe Bulkers that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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