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

SFL (NYSE:SFL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SFL. BTIG Research increased their price target on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

SFL Trading Down 0.1%

SFL opened at $11.10 on Friday. SFL has a 1-year low of $6.73 and a 1-year high of $12.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.48.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in SFL by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SFL by 52.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,060 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 7,273 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 122.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,556 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 99,767 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 10.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,034 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SFL during the second quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.