Critical Review: SFL (NYSE:SFL) versus Euronav (NYSE:CMBT)

SFL (NYSE:SFL) and Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.6% of SFL shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

SFL pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.2%. Euronav pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. SFL pays out 106.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Euronav pays out 11.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares SFL and Euronav’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SFL	14.45%	12.41%	3.41%
Euronav	117.02%	22.29%	10.17%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for SFL and Euronav, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SFL	0	0	2	1	3.33
Euronav	0	0	0	0	0.00

SFL currently has a consensus price target of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 80.49%. Given SFL’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe SFL is more favorable than Euronav.

Risk & Volatility

SFL has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Euronav has a beta of -0.12, suggesting that its share price is 112% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SFL and Euronav”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SFL	$894.06 million	1.37	$130.65 million	$1.01	8.78
Euronav	$940.25 million	1.87	$858.03 million	$4.38	2.07

Euronav has higher revenue and earnings than SFL. Euronav is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SFL, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About SFL

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. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned seven crude oil carriers, six oil product tankers, 15 dry bulk carriers, 32 container vessels, one jack-up drilling rig, one ultra-deepwater drilling rig, and five car carriers. It primarily operates in Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, Liberia, Namibia, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. The company was formerly known as Ship Finance International Limited and changed its name to SFL Corporation Ltd. in September 2019. SFL Corporation Ltd. was founded in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Euronav

Euronav NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil worldwide. The company offers floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) services. It also owns and operates a fleet of vessels. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. As of March 15, 2024, Euronav NV operates as subsidiary of CMB NV.