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

StockNews.com cut shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

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

Safe Bulkers Trading Up 3.4 %

SB stock opened at $3.63 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $3.40 and a twelve month high of $6.33. The company has a market cap of $387.60 million, a P/E ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.08 and a 200-day moving average of $4.84.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,417 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 42,598 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 83.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,238 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 56,946 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth approximately $492,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,653,002 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,563,000 after acquiring an additional 29,178 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 18,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

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.