Northern Trust Corp Grows Stake in SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Free Report) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 910,484 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 135,768 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.66% of SFL worth $9,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in SFL by 831.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in SFL by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in SFL by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,220 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in SFL by 883.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in SFL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered SFL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

SFL Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of SFL stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $8.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,071. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $8.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.41. SFL Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $6.78 and a 52 week high of $14.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The shipping company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $186.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.82 million. SFL had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 EPS.

SFL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. SFL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 263.41%.

SFL Profile

SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil products transportation, container transportation, car transportation, and drilling rigs.