Wall Street Zen Downgrades SFL (NYSE:SFL) to Hold

SFL (NYSE:SFL) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SFL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

SFL Price Performance

SFL opened at $12.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. SFL has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $12.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.88.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $174.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.77 million. SFL had a return on equity of 0.26% and a net margin of 4.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFL. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of SFL during the 1st quarter valued at about $879,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 437,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of SFL in the third quarter worth approximately $668,000. Everstar Asset Management LLC grew its position in SFL by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 133,011 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after buying an additional 54,962 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in SFL by 2.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,805,291 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $95,007,000 after buying an additional 244,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

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.