Short Interest in SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) Rises By 20.3%

SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,370,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the January 31st total of 1,970,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 974,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Fearnley Fonds upgraded SFL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com lowered SFL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

SFL Stock Performance

SFL traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $8.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,935,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,236. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. SFL has a 12 month low of $8.53 and a 12 month high of $14.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.62.

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SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.35%. SFL's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.93%.

Institutional Trading of SFL

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. now owns 41,281 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in SFL by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,786 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in SFL by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 947,311 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,682,000 after purchasing an additional 204,884 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in SFL by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,043,607 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,666,000 after purchasing an additional 57,934 shares during the period. Finally, Ellevest Inc. grew its position in SFL by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 45,429 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company's stock.

About SFL

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.