Geode Capital Management LLC Has $3.76 Million Stock Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 725,475 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 39,279 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.68% of Safe Bulkers worth $3,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 20.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,278,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,251,000 after buying an additional 380,270 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 9.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,765,187 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,273,000 after acquiring an additional 157,163 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 1.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 440.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,357 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after buying an additional 450,209 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 519,967 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 26,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SB. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 21st.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock opened at $3.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $364.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.93 and its 200-day moving average is $4.68. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a one year low of $3.40 and a one year high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.