SFL (NYSE:SFL) Hits New 12-Month High at $14.56

SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.56 and last traded at $14.55, with a volume of 124240 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SFL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on SFL from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.33.

SFL Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.41.

SFL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.56%. This is a positive change from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. SFL’s payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in SFL by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,904 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 7.0% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 22,457 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,699 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of SFL by 7.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,213 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of SFL in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

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.