Safe Bulkers’ (SB) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reiterated their buy rating on shares of Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $6.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

NYSE SB opened at $4.27 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11. Safe Bulkers has a 1 year low of $3.45 and a 1 year high of $6.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.91 million, a PE ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.95.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safe Bulkers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Safe Bulkers by 269.0% during the 3rd 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 bought a new position in Safe Bulkers in the third quarter valued at $86,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in Safe Bulkers by 14.4% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,863 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the third quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter worth about $104,000. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.