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

Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 39.70% from the company’s previous close.

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

Safe Bulkers Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SB traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $4.30. The company had a trading volume of 855,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,799. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.16. Safe Bulkers has a 1 year low of $3.40 and a 1 year high of $6.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $458.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.95.

Institutional Trading of Safe Bulkers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 135.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,898,533 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,277 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 3,273.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 165,345 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 160,444 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 316.6% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 418,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after buying an additional 317,900 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 14.4% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,863 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers by 12.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,898 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 7,409 shares during 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.