SFL (NYSE:SFL) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• SFL shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $13.74 and closing last at $13.485, up 1.6% during the session.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $14.00; BTIG Research and Benchmark reaffirmed Buy ratings.
• SFL exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.25 in EPS versus a $0.14 estimate and $200.77 million in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a 6.5% annualized yield.

Shares of SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company 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

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of SFL in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of SFL in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SFL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SFL has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.00.

SFL Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $179.65 million. SFL had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS.

SFL Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. SFL's dividend payout ratio is currently 183.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,171 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp boosted its stake in shares of SFL by 50.0% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of SFL by 23.9% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,531 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in SFL by 8.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,709 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in SFL by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. now owns 46,341 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SFL Company Profile

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.

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