SFL’s (SFL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

SFL (NYSE:SFL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $14.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.81% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on SFL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SFL in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

SFL Trading Down 1.9%

SFL stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.98. 941,385 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,479,084. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.19. SFL has a 12-month low of $6.73 and a 12-month high of $12.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 49.69 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.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of SFL by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,778 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SFL by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,171 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in SFL by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares during the period. NFSG Corp grew its holdings in SFL by 50.0% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in SFL by 10.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,034 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.