SFL (NYSE:SFL) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $11.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 1,304,725 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 5% from the previous session’s volume of 1,246,378 shares.The stock last traded at $8.1350 and had previously closed at $7.63.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SFL in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $11.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of SFL by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SFL by 789.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in SFL by 183.6% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in SFL by 43.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in SFL during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

SFL Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.31.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.08. SFL had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 6.67%. SFL’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is 307.69%.

About SFL

SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil products transportation, container transportation, car transportation, and drilling rigs.