Millennium Management LLC Purchases 162,351 Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB - Free Report) by 128.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 288,541 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 162,351 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Safe Bulkers worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,293 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 4,680 shares during the period. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE SB traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $3.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 312,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,885. The firm has a market cap of $399.61 million, a P/E ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.21. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.02 and a 52-week high of $6.22. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $3.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.63. 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 (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 19th. The shipping company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $64.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.92 million. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 10.04% and a net margin of 31.65%. Research analysts predict that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio is 29.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th.

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.