Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Position in SFL Corporation Ltd. $SFL

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) by 25.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in SFL were worth $4,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in SFL by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,778 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of SFL by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,171 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFSG Corp lifted its position in shares of SFL by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

SFL Stock Performance

Shares of SFL stock opened at $12.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. SFL Corporation Ltd. has a 52 week low of $6.73 and a 52 week high of $12.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.31 and a beta of 0.43.

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

SFL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. This is an increase from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 366.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

About SFL

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.