Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $11.80 Million Stock Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,306,479 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,293 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 3.10% of Safe Bulkers worth $11,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SB. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at $89,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Safe Bulkers by 86.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 24,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 11,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of SB stock opened at $3.32 on Wednesday. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.02 and a 12-month high of $6.33. The company has a market capitalization of $349.07 million, a PE ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. The business had revenue of $69.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.90 million. As a group, analysts predict that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DNB Markets raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price target on Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.