SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in SFL surged 24.2% in April to 4,575,208 shares (about 3.2% of shares outstanding), producing a short-interest ratio of 3.7 days based on average volume.
• SFL yields 6.9% on an annualized $0.80 dividend, but the company reported a loss (EPS -$0.04), negative net margin and a 23.1% year-over-year revenue decline, suggesting potential dividend sustainability concerns.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $12 price target, while individual reports range from a BTIG buy ($12) to a sell from Wall Street Zen; shares trade around $11.59, near their 52‑week high.

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,575,208 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the March 31st total of 3,682,401 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,246,845 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in SFL by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,778 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in SFL by 3.2% in the third quarter. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. now owns 44,009 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in SFL by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SFL by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,171 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in SFL by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SFL Stock Performance

Shares of SFL traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.59. 840,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,056,772. SFL has a 52 week low of $6.73 and a 52 week high of $11.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. SFL had a negative return on equity of 0.30% and a negative net margin of 3.61%.The business had revenue of $175.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. SFL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -400.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SFL shares. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SFL from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of SFL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

About SFL

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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