Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

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

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

NYSE:SB opened at $3.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.26 and its 200-day moving average is $4.96. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.66 and a 52-week high of $6.33. The company has a market cap of $392.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SB. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 14.4% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,863 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 18,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 3,913 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,945 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 4,129 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 27.9% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 25,567 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 5,572 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 10.3% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,745 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

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.