Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Safe Bulkers were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SB. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 546,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 26,595 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,987 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 6,534 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 213,359 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 691,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 75,200 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:SB opened at $3.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.63. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.02 and a 52 week high of $6.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 1.17.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 19th. The shipping company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. The company had revenue of $64.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.92 million. Research analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th.

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.