SFL (NYSE:SFL) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SFL (NYSE:SFL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SFL. BTIG Research lifted their target price on SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised SFL from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

SFL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of SFL stock opened at $10.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -51.57 and a beta of 0.47. SFL has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $10.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.36.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. SFL had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 0.30%. The firm had revenue of $175.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

SFL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. SFL’s payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SFL by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,297,605 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 704,710 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A bought a new stake in SFL during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,064,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in SFL by 7.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,380,000 after buying an additional 188,441 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in SFL by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,839,000 after acquiring an additional 174,072 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of SFL by 89.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 233,577 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 110,042 shares during 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.