SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Shareholders to Get $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• SFL declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, payable December 28 to shareholders of record December 15. The annualized dividend is $0.88 per share, a yield of 7.5%.
• The dividend payout ratio is 303.4%, meaning earnings alone do not cover the payout and SFL is relying on its balance sheet to fund dividends.
• Quarterly results beat analyst expectations: SFL reported EPS of $0.26 versus $0.14 expected and revenue of $201.58 million versus $179.97 million expected; revenue rose 13.4% year over year.

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share by the shipping company on Monday, December 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th.

SFL has a dividend payout ratio of 303.4% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

SFL Price Performance

Shares of SFL stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.70. 2,400,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,475,832. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $7.34 and a fifty-two week high of $13.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.42.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $201.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.97 million. SFL had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 8.76%. SFL's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of SFL by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,805,291 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $95,007,000 after acquiring an additional 244,621 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in SFL by 3.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 685,833 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,400,000 after purchasing an additional 25,820 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in SFL by 25.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 437,565 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in SFL by 73.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 86,253 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 36,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. purchased a new position in SFL during the first quarter worth approximately $879,000. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SFL Company Profile

SFL Corporation Ltd. is a maritime and offshore asset-owning company headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SFL. Formerly known as Ship Finance International Limited, the company was established in 2003 and has developed a diversified portfolio of vessels and offshore assets.

The company primarily acquires, owns and leases assets under long-term charter and lease agreements. Its portfolio has included crude oil and product tankers, dry bulk carriers, container ships, car carriers, offshore drilling units and other specialized maritime assets.

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