Everstar Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its position in SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) by 70.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 133,011 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,962 shares during the quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of SFL worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in SFL by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,847,616 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,973,000 after acquiring an additional 550,011 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in SFL by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,870,000 after acquiring an additional 97,689 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SFL by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 519,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,058,000 after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new stake in SFL in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,064,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in SFL by 122.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,556 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 99,767 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

SFL Stock Down 0.8%

SFL stock opened at $12.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 52.02 and a beta of 0.42. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a twelve month low of $6.73 and a twelve month high of $12.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.42.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $174.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.77 million. SFL had a return on equity of 0.26% and a net margin of 4.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS.

SFL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a boost from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SFL’s payout ratio is presently 333.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SFL in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SFL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SFL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

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.