Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB - Free Report) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 232,444 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 95,518 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.22% of Safe Bulkers worth $830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,480,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter valued at $492,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 83.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,238 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 56,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 107.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,417 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 42,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SB. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safe Bulkers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 target price on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded Safe Bulkers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.20 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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Safe Bulkers Price Performance

NYSE:SB traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3.77. 274,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,092. The business's 50-day moving average price is $3.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $396.45 million, a PE ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.90. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.31 and a 12-month high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $69.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.90 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 10.04%. On average, analysts expect that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.31%. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.