Denali Advisors LLC Buys 75,200 Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 691,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,200 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC owned 0.65% of Safe Bulkers worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also 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 $86,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $90,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 27.0% in 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. 21.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock opened at $3.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.62 million, a P/E ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.90. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.31 and a 52 week high of $6.33. 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 50 day moving average price of $3.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.19.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $69.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.90 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 10.04%. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SB has been the topic of a number of recent 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price target on Safe Bulkers in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.