SFL (NYSE:SFL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $11.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. 1,304,725 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the previous session’s volume of 1,246,378 shares.The stock last traded at $8.1350 and had previously closed at $7.63.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SFL in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SFL has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in SFL by 65.3% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in SFL by 789.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in SFL by 183.6% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in SFL by 43.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of SFL in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 28.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SFL Trading Up 9.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.31.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.08. SFL had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 3.97%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis.

SFL Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 307.69%.

SFL Company Profile

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.