Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,238 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 56,946 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,109,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Safe Bulkers by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 546,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 26,595 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 107.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,417 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 42,598 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE SB opened at $3.74 on Monday. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.31 and a 52 week high of $6.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.30 million, a PE ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $69.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 expect that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SB shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DNB Markets upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

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.