Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $5.69 Million Position in Safe Bulkers, Inc $SB

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc (NYSE:SB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 901,725 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,690,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 77.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,917 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Safe Bulkers by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,088 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 4,692 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Safe Bulkers in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Safe Bulkers Price Performance

SB opened at $8.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.80. Safe Bulkers, Inc has a 12-month low of $4.14 and a 12-month high of $8.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $858.96 million, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.84.

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $87.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.50 million. Safe Bulkers had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.29%.

Safe Bulkers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This is an increase from Safe Bulkers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Safe Bulkers’s payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

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.