Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) by 15.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,687 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in SFL were worth $168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SFL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in SFL by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,995,617 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $124,859,000 after buying an additional 64,875 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in SFL by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,803,656 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,915,000 after buying an additional 462,789 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of SFL by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,074,341 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,000,000 after purchasing an additional 51,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 66,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of SFL by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,276,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,723,000 after acquiring an additional 103,600 shares during the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SFL Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE SFL opened at $10.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.67. SFL Co. Ltd. has a twelve month low of $9.64 and a twelve month high of $14.62.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $255.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.98 million. SFL had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 16.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.35%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Fearnley Fonds upgraded SFL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

SFL 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.