Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Purchases New Stake in SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 81,426 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $879,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC owned 0.06% of SFL as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 550,011 shares during the last quarter. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in SFL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,596,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of SFL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,280,000. Credit Agricole S A bought a new stake in shares of SFL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,064,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of SFL by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,380,000 after buying an additional 188,441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

SFL Stock Performance

Shares of SFL opened at $10.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a one year low of $6.73 and a one year high of $12.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 0.44.

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

SFL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given 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 dividend yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 366.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SFL. BTIG Research upped their target price on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

SFL 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.