Aristides Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB

Aristides Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) by 23.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,861 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,483 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Safe Bulkers were worth $126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 6.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,017,000 after purchasing an additional 91,662 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 16.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,441,089 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,202,000 after purchasing an additional 204,874 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 2.7% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,118,329 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,127,000 after acquiring an additional 29,667 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 6.9% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 930,081 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 59,666 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 576,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 29,667 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 9.6%

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock opened at $5.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $548.13 million, a P/E ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.22. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $5.54.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safe Bulkers in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.80.

Safe Bulkers Company 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.