Norway's Cleaves Securities has reiterated its commitment to shipping despite dropping Safe Bulkers.
The financial service provider said coverage of the New York-listed, Polys Hajioannou-led bulker owner was being suspended for an indefinite period.
Cleaves' last recommendation on the stock was hold, with a target price of $1 per share on 26 April.
Safe shares closed at $1.08 on Wednesday.
A TradeWinds report asked this month whether Norwegian equity analysts would be next to exit coverage of public shipowners, following a pull-back in the US.
But Cleaves head of research Joakim Hannisdahl told TradeWinds his company's move was "nothing dramatic" but just an exercise in in managing the firm's coverage".
"We have added a lot of companies over the last few years, now covering 25, which I believe is one of the broadest coverages amongst our peers," he said.
"Sometimes we also drop companies, all part of the natural process of managing our coverage in order to serve our clients in the best way possible."
He said that in light of recent headlines and peers dropping coverage of shipping, Cleaves is fully committed to shipping equity research.
The move was purely a rebalancing, he added, and Cleaves still covers big dry players like 2020 Bulkers, Eagle Bulk Shipping, Genco Shipping &Trading, Golden Ocean Group, Scorpio Bulkers and Star Bulk, as well as tanker, LNG and LPG vessel owners.
Dry is the top pick
Cleaves has dry bulk shipping as its top pick from all its shipping segments currently.
Hannisdahl said he believes the low orderbook, rising Chinese demand and increasing Brazilian iron ore supply will support the sector very well into the second half of 2020 and beyond.
"If anything, we would look to add to our list of dry bulk companies under coverage," he added.
TradeWinds earlier cited Scorpio Group president Robert Bugbee as saying he was concerned that the outflow of analysts from research coverage over the past two years may not be over.
Shipping has already lost bulge-bracket firms, such as JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley along with the likes of UBS and Credit Suisse, beside a group of smaller banks.
Another big financier, Germany’s Deutsche Bank, was the latest to slash coverage on 3 April, culling 10 of 16 owners based on market capitalisation and trading liquidity.
Norwegian firms have been on a one-way street into the sector for years, with several establishing offices and licences in New York.
But TradeWinds has reported the coronavirus is starting to take its toll on the Oslo finance community with the departure of the top banker at Fearnley Securites amid temporary staff furloughs, and the resignation of a prominent Nordea lender.
Marius Halvorsen is out as chief executive of Fearnley Securities.
Meanwhile, veteran Nordea banker Ronny Bjornadal has chosen to resign his post as head of global maritime loans in a development suggested to be unlike the Fearnley cuts.
