Dual Fuel Fleet Upgrades And Tight Supply Will Drive Powerful Long Term Upside

Catalysts

About Safe Bulkers

Safe Bulkers is a dry bulk shipping company operating a young, fuel efficient fleet focused on grain, minor bulk and other key commodity trades.

What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?

• Ongoing fleet renewal into Phase 2 and Phase 3, eco and dual fuel vessels positions Safe Bulkers to capture premium charter rates as environmental rules tighten and less efficient competitors incur higher costs, supporting stronger revenue and improving net margins.
• Structural tightening of fleet supply due to a low order book, rising scrapping of older tonnage and constrained shipbuilding capacity is expected to underpin higher dry bulk freight rates for longer, lifting time charter equivalents and supporting earnings.
• Growing grain and minor bulk trade flows, combined with longer sailing distances driven by shifting trade patterns and market fragmentation, increase tonne mile demand for Safe Bulkers modern fleet, enhancing utilization levels and long term revenue potential.
• Scale advantages from a majority Japanese built fleet, younger average vessel age and advanced environmental upgrades lower operating and CO2 related compliance costs, which can support wider operating margins and stronger free cash flow generation per vessel.
• Significant contracted revenue backlog, ample liquidity, low leverage and available borrowing capacity provide the financial flexibility to fund growth, secure period charters and sustain shareholder distributions, all of which can support earnings and cash flow over time.

Assumptions

This narrative explores a more optimistic perspective on Safe Bulkers compared to the consensus, based on a Fair Value that aligns with the bullish cohort of analysts. How have these above catalysts been quantified?

• The bullish analysts are assuming Safe Bulkers's revenue will grow by 11.8% annually over the next 3 years.
• The bullish analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 13.9% today to 40.7% in 3 years time.
• The bullish analysts expect earnings to reach $156.2 million (and earnings per share of $1.52) by about December 2028, up from $38.1 million today. The analysts are largely in agreement about this estimate.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the price target of the more bullish analyst cohort, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 5.5x on those 2028 earnings, down from 14.3x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Shipping industry at 6.6x.
• The bullish analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 2.79% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 11.71%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?

• Global dry bulk supply is projected to grow about 3% annually in 2025 and 2026, and management itself notes that fleet supply growth is expected to continue outpacing demand. This could structurally cap or compress freight and time charter equivalent rates over the cycle, weighing on revenue and earnings.
• Long term demand growth for traditional bulk commodities is at risk from China and India boosting domestic coal production and China rapidly phasing out fossil fuels in power generation. This could reduce import volumes of coal and limit iron ore growth, pressuring volumes carried, vessel utilization, revenue and ultimately net margins.
• Persistent geopolitical tensions, trade wars, tariffs and elevated policy uncertainty could undermine the currently supportive grain and minor bulk trades that Safe Bulkers relies on for tonne mile growth. This may increase charter rate volatility and lead to more frequent periods of weaker charter markets like the one that already drove lower revenue and earnings in the third quarter of 2025.
• The sector transition to alternative and dual fuels may accelerate, and although Safe Bulkers has started ordering Phase 3 and dual fuel ships, the current dual fuel order book for the dry bulk segment is still small and regulatory paths could shift. This creates a risk that parts of the existing fleet become less competitive or require higher capital expenditure, which may compress free cash flow, net margins and return on invested capital.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?

• The assumed bullish price target for Safe Bulkers is $6.5, which represents up to two standard deviations above the consensus price target of $5.7. This valuation is based on what can be assumed as the expectations of Safe Bulkers's future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors from analysts on the bullish end of the spectrum.
  
• However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $6.5, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $4.9.
  
• In order for you to agree with the more bullish analyst cohort, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $383.7 million, earnings will come to $156.2 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 5.5x, assuming you use a discount rate of 11.7%.
  
• Given the current share price of $5.31, the analyst price target of $6.5 is 18.3% higher.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.