SFL (NYSE:SFL) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SFL (NYSE:SFL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research increased their price objective on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One investment 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, SFL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

SFL Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SFL stock opened at $11.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. SFL has a 1 year low of $6.73 and a 1 year high of $12.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.60 and a beta of 0.44.

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

SFL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from SFL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. SFL’s payout ratio is 366.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of SFL in the first quarter worth $879,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in SFL during the third quarter worth about $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 worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 54,962 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in SFL in the 1st quarter worth about $879,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in SFL by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares during the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.