Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 0.3 %

SB traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $3.51. 899,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 678,101. The company has a market cap of $374.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $4.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.87. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.40 and a 52-week high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.70%. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 20.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,278,803 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,251,000 after purchasing an additional 380,270 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 9.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,765,187 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,273,000 after buying an additional 157,163 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,653,002 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,563,000 after acquiring an additional 29,178 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 440.7% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,357 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,215,000 after acquiring an additional 450,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 519,967 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 26,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.