Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $401,000 Investment in Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 63,611 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.06% of Safe Bulkers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Safe Bulkers by 692.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 262,615 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 229,486 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 1st quarter valued at $1,625,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC bought a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,641,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,450,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,690,000. 21.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Safe Bulkers Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SB opened at $8.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $852.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a 1 year low of $4.14 and a 1 year high of $9.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.81 and its 200-day moving average is $6.99.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.50 million.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Safe Bulkers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.