Wall Street Zen Upgrades SFL (NYSE:SFL) to “Buy”

SFL (NYSE:SFL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research increased their target price on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SFL in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

SFL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SFL opened at $12.44 on Friday. SFL has a 52 week low of $6.73 and a 52 week high of $12.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.14. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.84 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFL. 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 valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in SFL by 52.8% during 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 boosted its position in SFL by 122.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 181,556 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 99,767 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in SFL by 10.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,034 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in SFL in the second quarter valued at $139,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.