SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a decline of 21.6% from the March 15th total of 1,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 751,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

SFL Price Performance

Shares of SFL traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 410,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,798. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.91. SFL has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $13.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter. SFL had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $209.57 million during the quarter.

SFL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.27%. This is an increase from SFL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. SFL's payout ratio is currently 157.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in SFL by 11.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,220 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 6,916 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SFL during the 4th quarter worth $319,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of SFL by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,258,721 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $14,198,000 after buying an additional 71,942 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in SFL in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in SFL during the 4th quarter valued at about $516,000. 28.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research increased their price target on SFL from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of SFL from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.00.

About SFL

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.