StockNews.com Upgrades SFL (NYSE:SFL) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SFL (NYSE:SFL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, BTIG Research raised their price target on SFL from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $12.33.

SFL Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SFL opened at $13.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.11. SFL has a 52 week low of $9.26 and a 52 week high of $14.62. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.66.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $229.06 million for the quarter. SFL had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 15.21%.

SFL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.13%. This is an increase from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. SFL’s payout ratio is presently 111.34%.

Institutional Trading of SFL

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in SFL by 1,021.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 657,672 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,419,000 after acquiring an additional 599,029 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in SFL by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,437,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,218,000 after acquiring an additional 564,675 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in SFL by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,067,790 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $14,073,000 after acquiring an additional 405,152 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of SFL by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,803,647 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $99,306,000 after purchasing an additional 226,432 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SFL by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,556,099 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,351,000 after purchasing an additional 131,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

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.