Fearnley Asset Management AS Buys Shares of 332,400 SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 332,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,000. SFL comprises approximately 1.2% of Fearnley Asset Management AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in SFL by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,847,616 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,973,000 after buying an additional 550,011 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in SFL by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,870,000 after acquiring an additional 97,689 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in SFL by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,839,000 after acquiring an additional 174,072 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 660,013 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,155,000 after acquiring an additional 86,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 16,610 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SFL Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SFL stock opened at $10.79 on Friday. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $12.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.98 and a beta of 0.41.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 0.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share.

SFL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 366.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SFL shares. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

SFL Company Profile

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.