SFL (NYSE:SFL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $13.74 and last traded at $13.4850, with a volume of 2142003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

SFL Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.51.

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

SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. SFL’s payout ratio is presently 183.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in SFL by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 69,361 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 20,230 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in SFL during the 2nd quarter worth $57,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in SFL by 145.9% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,026 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of SFL in the second quarter worth $456,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of SFL in the second quarter worth $424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

About SFL

SFL Corporation Ltd. is a maritime asset owner and chartering company headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. The company owns and leases a diversified fleet of vessels and offshore assets to customers under long-term charter and lease arrangements.

SFL’s fleet has included crude oil tankers, product and chemical tankers, container ships, dry bulk carriers, car carriers, gas carriers and offshore support assets. Through its leasing and chartering activities, the company provides transportation and marine infrastructure services to energy, industrial and shipping customers worldwide.

The company was established in 2003 as Ship Finance International Limited and later adopted the name SFL Corporation Ltd.