SFL Corporation Ltd. (SFL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 on March 30th

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the shipping company on Monday, March 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th.

SFL has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. SFL has a dividend payout ratio of 275.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

SFL Stock Performance

SFL opened at $10.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. SFL has a 12-month low of $6.73 and a 12-month high of $10.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.33 and a 200-day moving average of $8.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,024.50 and a beta of 0.47.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. SFL had a positive return on equity of 3.05% and a negative net margin of 0.20%.The business had revenue of $175.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in SFL by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,297,605 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 704,710 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in shares of SFL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,064,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of SFL by 7.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,380,000 after purchasing an additional 188,441 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SFL by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,839,000 after buying an additional 174,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of SFL by 89.1% in the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 233,577 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after buying an additional 110,042 shares in the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.