Reviewing BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) & SFL (NYSE:SFL)

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) and SFL (NYSE:SFL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

28.6% of SFL shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

BW LPG pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.2%. SFL pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. BW LPG pays out 142.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SFL pays out -400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SFL has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

BW LPG has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SFL has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares BW LPG and SFL”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BW LPG	$3.58 billion	0.86	$242.31 million	$1.60	12.74
SFL	$733.04 million	2.36	-$26.43 million	($0.20)	-59.93

BW LPG has higher revenue and earnings than SFL. SFL is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BW LPG, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares BW LPG and SFL’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BW LPG	6.76%	12.61%	7.33%
SFL	-3.61%	-0.30%	-0.08%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for BW LPG and SFL, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BW LPG	1	1	2	0	2.25
SFL	0	1	1	0	2.50

SFL has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.13%. Given SFL’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SFL is more favorable than BW LPG.

Summary

BW LPG beats SFL on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BW LPG

BW LPG Limited, an investment holding company, engages in ship owning and chartering activities worldwide. The company operates through Shipping and Product Services segments. The company involved in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas to oil companies, and trading and utility companies. It also offers integrated liquified petroleum gas (LPG) delivery services and support; wholesale and trade of LPG; and management services. It owns and operates LPG vessels and a fleet of very large gas carriers. The company was formerly known as BW Gas LPG Holding Limited and changed its name to BW LPG Limited in September 2013. BW LPG Limited was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About SFL

SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil products transportation, container transportation, car transportation, and drilling rigs. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned seven crude oil carriers, six oil product tankers, 15 dry bulk carriers, 32 container vessels, one jack-up drilling rig, one ultra-deepwater drilling rig, and five car carriers. It primarily operates in Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, Liberia, Namibia, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. The company was formerly known as Ship Finance International Limited and changed its name to SFL Corporation Ltd. in September 2019. SFL Corporation Ltd. was founded in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.