Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) Earns Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 40.52% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SB opened at $4.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $455.91 million, a P/E ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.62 and its 200-day moving average is $5.15. Safe Bulkers has a 52-week low of $3.45 and a 52-week high of $6.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Safe Bulkers by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,278,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,251,000 after acquiring an additional 380,270 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 9.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,765,187 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,273,000 after acquiring an additional 157,163 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,653,002 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,563,000 after acquiring an additional 29,178 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Safe Bulkers by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 655,429 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 38,162 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Safe Bulkers by 440.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,357 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 450,209 shares in the last quarter. 21.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.