SFL (NYSE:SFL) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SFL (NYSE:SFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SFL. BTIG Research raised their target price on SFL from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of SFL in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

SFL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SFL opened at $7.75 on Friday. SFL has a 52 week low of $6.73 and a 52 week high of $11.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.27. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -774.50 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $178.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.45 million. SFL had a positive return on equity of 3.05% and a negative net margin of 0.20%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis.

SFL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in SFL during the third quarter worth about $668,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SFL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of SFL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in SFL in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in SFL by 3.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SFL

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.