Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 6.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 655,429 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,162 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Safe Bulkers were worth $3,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 432.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,031 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 12,210 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter worth $85,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 1st quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers during the 1st quarter valued at about $135,000. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 0.4 %

SB stock opened at $4.97 on Monday. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a one year low of $2.97 and a one year high of $6.33. The firm has a market cap of $530.62 million, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $0.17 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 business had revenue of $78.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.