SFL (NYSE:SFL) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $11.62 and last traded at $11.6250, with a volume of 65110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SFL in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded SFL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.00.

SFL Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.93 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.10.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $175.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.36 million. SFL had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 0.30%. SFL’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS.

SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. SFL’s payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SFL by 16.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,847,616 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,973,000 after purchasing an additional 550,011 shares during the period. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in SFL in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,596,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in SFL during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,280,000. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in SFL during the third quarter worth about $2,064,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in SFL by 7.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,380,000 after acquiring an additional 188,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

About SFL

Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) is an independent owner of modern, large-size ocean-going vessels that provides finance and leasing services to the global shipping industry. The company’s fleet encompasses a diversified mix of crude oil tankers, product and chemical tankers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, dry bulk carriers, container vessels and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units. By structuring long-term charter agreements and bareboat leases with major oil companies, commodity traders and offshore operators, Ship Finance International seeks to deliver stable cash flows and risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders.

In its core business, Ship Finance International acquires or finances vessels through forward sales agreements and then charters them out under fixed-rate contracts, typically ranging from five to 20 years in duration.