American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc. by 29.2%, selling 510,744 shares and now owning approximately 1,236,215 shares valued at $4,562,000.
• Safe Bulkers recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.7% and a payout ratio of 46.51%.
• Jefferies Financial Group has reiterated a "buy" rating for Safe Bulkers, maintaining a price target of $5.00 amidst analyst expectations of earnings growth for the current year.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB - Free Report) by 29.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,236,215 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 510,744 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.17% of Safe Bulkers worth $4,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,088,662 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,887,000 after acquiring an additional 26,595 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 25.8% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 870,415 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 178,646 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 490,911 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 93,777 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 7.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 455,155 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,680,000 after acquiring an additional 31,563 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 317,576 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 88,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4.47.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE SB traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4.42. 576,398 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 341,200. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $5.24. The firm has a market cap of $451.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $65.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.40 million. Safe Bulkers had a net margin of 19.25% and a return on equity of 5.80%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Safe Bulkers, Inc will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.51%.

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.