Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 2.1 %

Safe Bulkers stock opened at $3.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $392.95 million, a P/E ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Safe Bulkers has a fifty-two week low of $3.66 and a fifty-two week high of $6.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.95.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SB. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Safe Bulkers by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,417 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 42,598 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 83.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,238 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 56,946 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth approximately $492,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,653,002 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,563,000 after purchasing an additional 29,178 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 18,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 3,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

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.