Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 2.3 %

SB stock opened at $3.99 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.09. The stock has a market cap of $425.52 million, a PE ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Safe Bulkers has a fifty-two week low of $3.45 and a fifty-two week high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SB. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 440.7% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,357 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 450,209 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,278,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,251,000 after buying an additional 380,270 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 316.6% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 418,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 317,900 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth about $1,480,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

About Safe Bulkers

Safe Bulkers, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides marine drybulk transportation services. It owns and operates drybulk vessels for transporting bulk cargoes primarily coal, grain, and iron ore. The company has a fleet of 47 drybulk vessels having an aggregate carrying capacity of 4,719,600 deadweight tons.