SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Short Interest Update

SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, a decline of 15.6% from the December 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 852,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

SFL Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of SFL stock traded down $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $10.87. The stock had a trading volume of 832,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,991. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.28. SFL has a one year low of $9.64 and a one year high of $14.62.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last released 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 business had revenue of $255.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.98 million. SFL had a net margin of 16.03% and a return on equity of 14.61%. SFL’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share.

SFL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.94%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.30%.

Institutional Trading of SFL

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFL. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in shares of SFL by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 95,389 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in SFL by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,688 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,680,000 after buying an additional 66,096 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in SFL by 239.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 168,908 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 119,131 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in SFL in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SFL during the third quarter worth about $296,000. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SFL Company Profile

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.