SFL (NYSE:SFL) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $10.46 and traded as high as $11.41. SFL shares last traded at $11.0960, with a volume of 943,398 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SFL from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

SFL Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 0.44.

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

SFL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. SFL’s payout ratio is currently 366.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of SFL by 2.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,805,291 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $95,007,000 after purchasing an additional 244,621 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in SFL by 3.5% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,870,000 after buying an additional 97,689 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,839,000 after buying an additional 174,072 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 3.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 685,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,400,000 after buying an additional 25,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 519,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,058,000 after buying an additional 16,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

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.