SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Short Interest Up 20.3% in February

SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,370,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the January 31st total of 1,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 974,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

SFL Price Performance

Shares of SFL stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 677,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,048. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.68. SFL has a 1-year low of $8.53 and a 1-year high of $14.62. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.67.

SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is 106.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in SFL by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,074,341 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,000,000 after buying an additional 51,022 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,862,370 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,033,000 after acquiring an additional 149,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,571,430 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,060,000 after acquiring an additional 129,742 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,851 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,012,000 after acquiring an additional 35,972 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,043,607 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,666,000 after buying an additional 57,934 shares during the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.