Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Lowers Holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC decreased its position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 35.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,983 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 48,812 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.08% of Safe Bulkers worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SB. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,088,662 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,887,000 after buying an additional 26,595 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,403 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 7,520 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 490,911 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 93,777 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,293 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 4,680 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.69% of the company’s stock.

Safe Bulkers Stock Performance

Shares of SB stock opened at $3.76 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.67. The company has a market cap of $395.40 million, a PE ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.02 and a 12-month high of $6.33.

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

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SB. Loop Capital set a $4.20 target price on Safe Bulkers in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DNB Markets raised Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.