Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its SFL stake by 25.2% in the first quarter, acquiring 88,100 additional shares for a total position worth approximately $4.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 28.59% of SFL.
• SFL reported quarterly earnings of $0.20 per share, beating estimates of $0.07, while revenue of $174.48 million exceeded expectations but declined 6.8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 7.3%. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $14, versus a recent share price of $12.07.

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Free Report) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 437,565 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.30% of SFL worth $4,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in SFL by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,805,291 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $95,007,000 after purchasing an additional 244,621 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in SFL by 3.5% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $21,870,000 after purchasing an additional 97,689 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of SFL by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $9,839,000 after buying an additional 174,072 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of SFL by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 660,013 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,155,000 after buying an additional 86,339 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SFL by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 519,570 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,058,000 after buying an additional 16,610 shares in the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SFL Price Performance

SFL stock opened at $12.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $12.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 50.31 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day moving average is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.86.

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

SFL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from SFL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SFL's payout ratio is presently 366.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded SFL from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. BTIG Research raised their target price on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SFL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.00.

SFL Profile

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.

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