SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, an increase of 17.7% from the February 13th total of 2,370,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Trading of SFL

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SFL. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in SFL by 239.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 168,908 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 119,131 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SFL by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,688 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,680,000 after buying an additional 66,096 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of SFL in the fourth quarter worth about $809,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SFL by 2,095.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 450,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 429,800 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SFL in the 4th quarter valued at $569,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

SFL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SFL traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.52. The company had a trading volume of 536,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,220. SFL has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $14.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.38.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SFL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

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.