Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 40,485 SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 40,485 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in SFL by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,933 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 210,778 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,154,000 after buying an additional 29,496 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of SFL by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 419,945 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,292,000 after acquiring an additional 117,421 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of SFL by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,571,430 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $16,060,000 after acquiring an additional 129,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,616 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered SFL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

SFL Stock Up 2.1%

SFL traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.75. 1,589,614 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,045,206. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.38. SFL Co. Ltd. has a 1 year low of $6.78 and a 1 year high of $14.62.

SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.34%. SFL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.93%.

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.