SFL (NYSE:SFL) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• SFL Corporation Ltd. experienced a significant decline, hitting a new 52-week low at $6.73, with shares last trading at $6.85.
• Weiss Ratings has restated a "hold (c-)" rating for SFL, while the stock has an average rating of "Buy" from analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a high annual yield of 11.7%, despite a significant dividend payout ratio of 307.69%.

Shares of SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $6.73 and last traded at $6.85, with a volume of 349768 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of SFL in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy".

SFL Trading Down 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $994.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.37.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The shipping company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $192.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $192.40 million. SFL had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 3.97%.SFL's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS.

SFL Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. SFL's dividend payout ratio is 307.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in SFL by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,297,605 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $27,469,000 after buying an additional 704,710 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 7.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $23,380,000 after purchasing an additional 188,441 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 5.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,314,878 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,782,000 after purchasing an additional 69,667 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 752,960 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,174,000 after purchasing an additional 15,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 45.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 653,547 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,359,000 after purchasing an additional 203,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.59% of the company's stock.

SFL Company 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.

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