Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 193,496 SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SFL Co. Ltd. (NYSE:SFL – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 193,496 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in SFL by 7.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 23,342 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of SFL by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in shares of SFL by 13.2% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 15,525 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of SFL by 19.7% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,288 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of SFL in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. 29.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. DNB Markets lowered shares of SFL from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 18th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of SFL in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of SFL from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 17th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of SFL from a “c-” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SFL currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.75.

Shares of NYSE:SFL traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $10.56. The company had a trading volume of 10,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 998,328. SFL Co. Ltd. has a 1-year low of $6.67 and a 1-year high of $10.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

SFL (NYSE:SFL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 16th. The shipping company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.05. SFL had a net margin of 32.01% and a return on equity of 12.77%. The firm had revenue of $151.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SFL Co. Ltd. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 16th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 15th. SFL’s payout ratio is currently 61.07%.

About SFL (Get Rating)

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 is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of assets. In addition, it operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil, chemical, oil product, container, and car transportation, as well as dry bulk shipments and drilling rigs.

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