SFL Corporation Ltd. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 (NYSE:SFL)

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the shipping company on Tuesday, September 22nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th.

SFL has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. SFL has a payout ratio of 303.4% 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

NYSE SFL traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, hitting $11.99. 2,339,019 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,488,522. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.96 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.19. SFL has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $12.94.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $200.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.65 million. SFL had a return on equity of 0.26% and a net margin of 4.37%.SFL’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SFL shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of SFL in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of SFL in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SFL in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SFL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

SFL Company Profile

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.