SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 15.3% in March to 3,682,401 shares, equal to about 2.5% of the stock and a days-to-cover of 2.5 based on average daily volume.
• SFL pays a $0.20 quarterly dividend (7.2% yield), but the company is currently unprofitable (latest EPS -$0.04), reported revenue down 23.1% year-over-year, and shows a negative payout ratio (-400%).
• Analyst sentiment is mildly positive: MarketBeat's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $12 price target after recent upgrades (BTIG raised its target and buy rating; other outlets moved to hold).

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,682,401 shares, a decrease of 15.3% from the March 15th total of 4,347,294 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,469,856 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SFL by 789.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SFL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of SFL by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of SFL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of SFL by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,139 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,377 shares in the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research increased their target price on SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised SFL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised SFL from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

SFL Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of SFL traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.06. 1,062,861 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,839. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -55.28 and a beta of 0.39. SFL has a 52 week low of $6.73 and a 52 week high of $11.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

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

SFL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. SFL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -400.00%.

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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