Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $2.28 Million Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 63.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 459,112 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177,940 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.41% of Safe Bulkers worth $2,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $401,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $385,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 368.2% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 59,933 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 47,133 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

Safe Bulkers stock opened at $5.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.72. The stock has a market cap of $618.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.93. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.97 and a 12-month high of $6.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $81.67 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SB. StockNews.com upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $4.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 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.