Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 706,483 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,458,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,917 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Safe Bulkers during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,088 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 4,692 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the third quarter worth $46,000. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:SB opened at $8.65 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.44 and a 200-day moving average of $6.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $880.83 million, a P/E ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.84. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a twelve month low of $4.14 and a twelve month high of $8.76.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 28.29% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The business had revenue of $87.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This is an increase from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is 38.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safe Bulkers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Safe Bulkers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Safe Bulkers Company Profile

Safe Bulkers Inc (NYSE: SB) is a dry bulk shipping company engaged in the ocean transport of commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain, and fertilizers. The company operates a modern fleet of vessels, including Panamax, Supramax and Kamsarmax bulk carriers, designed to serve a variety of trade routes and cargo types. Safe Bulkers’ fleet is employed under both time charter and voyage charter arrangements, offering flexibility to respond to market demand and optimize vessel utilization.

Founded in 2008, Safe Bulkers began trading its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in the same year, establishing itself as a publicly listed provider of dry bulk transportation services.