SFL (NYSE:SFL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.44 and last traded at $10.2950, with a volume of 277657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

SFL Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -51.57 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.13.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $175.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.36 million. SFL had a negative return on equity of 0.30% and a negative net margin of 3.61%.The business’s revenue was down 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. SFL’s payout ratio is presently -8,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 789.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in SFL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in SFL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of SFL by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,377 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SFL

Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) is an independent owner of modern, large-size ocean-going vessels that provides finance and leasing services to the global shipping industry. The company’s fleet encompasses a diversified mix of crude oil tankers, product and chemical tankers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, dry bulk carriers, container vessels and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units. By structuring long-term charter agreements and bareboat leases with major oil companies, commodity traders and offshore operators, Ship Finance International seeks to deliver stable cash flows and risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders.

In its core business, Ship Finance International acquires or finances vessels through forward sales agreements and then charters them out under fixed-rate contracts, typically ranging from five to 20 years in duration.