Sei Investments Co. Acquires 229,486 Shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB

Key Points

• Sei Investments significantly increased its Safe Bulkers stake by 692.7%, buying 229,486 additional shares to hold 262,615 shares valued at approximately $1.66 million.
• Other institutional investors also raised their positions, with institutions collectively owning 21.69% of Safe Bulkers’ stock. However, analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $6.00 average price target.
• Safe Bulkers reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.28 and revenue of $87.47 million, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.075 per share, implying a 4.0% annualized yield.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB - Free Report) by 692.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,615 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 229,486 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.26% of Safe Bulkers worth $1,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safe Bulkers by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,052 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 27,292 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 6.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,636 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,017,000 after buying an additional 91,662 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Safe Bulkers by 5.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 576,229 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,126,000 after buying an additional 29,667 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 3.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 135,870 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Safe Bulkers during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 21.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Safe Bulkers Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE SB opened at $7.51 on Tuesday. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a twelve month low of $4.12 and a twelve month high of $8.05. The stock has a market cap of $764.74 million, a PE ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.29%.The firm 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Safe Bulkers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Safe Bulkers's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Safe Bulkers 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.

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