Everstar Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Everstar Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) by 70.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,011 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,962 shares during the quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC’s holdings in SFL were worth $1,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SFL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 789.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of SFL during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of SFL during the third quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SFL during the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on SFL shares. Wall Street Zen raised SFL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SFL in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

SFL Stock Performance

NYSE:SFL opened at $12.49 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $9.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.02 and a beta of 0.42. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a 1-year low of $6.73 and a 1-year high of $12.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $174.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.77 million. SFL had a return on equity of 0.26% and a net margin of 4.37%.SFL’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS.

SFL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 333.33%.

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.