Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,652,918 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 119,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 1.55% of Safe Bulkers worth $5,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,913 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,653,002 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $8,563,000 after buying an additional 29,178 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth approximately $492,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 83.4% during the 3rd 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. boosted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 107.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,417 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 42,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company's stock.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $3.31. 374,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 615,723. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.02 million, a PE ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.92. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.02 and a 1-year high of $6.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SB shares. DNB Markets upgraded Safe Bulkers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.20 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note 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 target on Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, January 27th.

About Safe Bulkers

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.