Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 5,612 Shares of SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,189 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,612 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in SFL were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 44,472 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of SFL by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SFL by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 65,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of SFL by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,511 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in SFL by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC now owns 12,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SFL Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:SFL opened at $10.74 on Friday. SFL Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $9.64 and a 1 year high of $14.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.67.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $255.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.98 million. SFL had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 16.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS.

SFL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

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.