Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $424,000 Position in SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 41,590 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SFL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of SFL in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of SFL by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFSG Corp raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SFL Stock Performance

NYSE SFL opened at $12.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a twelve month low of $6.73 and a twelve month high of $12.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.41.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $200.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.65 million. SFL had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 8.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of SFL in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised SFL from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of SFL in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

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.