Ethic Inc. Sells 11,335 Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Ethic Inc. cut its position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,862 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 11,335 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Safe Bulkers were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SB. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at $89,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,122 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 546,562 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after buying an additional 26,595 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,987 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 6,534 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 213,359 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the period. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SB opened at $3.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.40 million, a P/E ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.17. 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 50-day simple moving average is $3.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.67. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.02 and a twelve month high of $6.33.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $69.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.90 million. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DNB Markets upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital set a $4.20 price objective on Safe Bulkers in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.