Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 599,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 205,599 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Safe Bulkers were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Safe Bulkers by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,812 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 15,254 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Safe Bulkers during the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Safe Bulkers by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 691,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 75,200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 213,359 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,987 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 6,534 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Safe Bulkers stock opened at $3.77 on Wednesday. Safe Bulkers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.31 and a twelve month high of $6.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.45 million, a PE ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Safe Bulkers, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safe Bulkers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is 24.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $4.20 target price on Safe Bulkers in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DNB Markets raised shares of Safe Bulkers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.20 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

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.