SFL (NYSE:SFL) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

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

Separately, BTIG Research upped their price objective on SFL from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SFL presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $12.33.

SFL Stock Up 0.9 %

SFL stock opened at $13.28 on Tuesday. SFL has a fifty-two week low of $9.03 and a fifty-two week high of $14.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.76.

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

SFL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.14%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in SFL by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 46,432 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 10,523 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in SFL by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,061,666 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,838,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in SFL by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 52,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 10,276 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in SFL by 2,191.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 13,037 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in SFL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.