SFL (NYSE:SFL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

SFL (NYSE:SFL) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

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

SFL Price Performance

Shares of SFL opened at $10.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.88 and a beta of 0.41. SFL has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $11.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.54.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of SFL by 16.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,847,616 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,973,000 after purchasing an additional 550,011 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 3.5% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,870,000 after acquiring an additional 97,689 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in SFL by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,839,000 after purchasing an additional 174,072 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in SFL by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 660,013 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,155,000 after purchasing an additional 86,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 519,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,058,000 after buying an additional 16,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

SFL Company Profile

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.