Bailard Inc. Takes Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 43,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 432.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 26.1% in the first 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. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the first quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

SB stock opened at $5.06 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.19. The firm has a market cap of $539.69 million, a P/E ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.97 and a 12 month high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The firm had revenue of $78.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.16 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

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.