Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Stake Boosted by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,238 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 56,946 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.12% of Safe Bulkers worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SB. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 269.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 7,800 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 3rd quarter worth about $90,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $104,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,913 shares during the period. 21.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SB has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of SB stock opened at $3.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $366.79 million, a P/E ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.37 and a fifty-two week high of $6.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.57.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.