Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 205,599 Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB - Free Report) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 599,538 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 205,599 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.56% of Safe Bulkers worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 27.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 18,400 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 3,913 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,204 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DNB Markets upgraded shares of Safe Bulkers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.20 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $4.20 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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Safe Bulkers Stock Down 2.2 %

SB traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,111,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,750. The stock's 50-day moving average is $3.65 and its 200-day moving average is $4.04. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.31 and a 1 year high of $6.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.94.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 10.04%. The firm had revenue of $69.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $71.90 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Safe Bulkers's payout ratio is 24.10%.

Safe Bulkers 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.