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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded SFL from "hold" to "sell", though analyst views remain mixed — BTIG upgraded its price target to $12 with a "buy" rating and Weiss moved SFL to "hold", leaving the consensus at a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $12.
• Quarterly results and balance-sheet risks: SFL posted -$0.04 EPS (versus $0.15 a year ago) and revenue of $175.5M (beat estimates but down 23.1% YoY), with negative net margin and ROE, a high debt-to-equity ratio (2.04) and weak liquidity ratios, highlighting profitability and leverage concerns.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SFL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.00.

SFL Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SFL opened at $10.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.36. SFL has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $11.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.96.

SFL (NYSE:SFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $175.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.36 million. SFL had a negative return on equity of 0.30% and a negative net margin of 3.61%.The company's revenue was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of SFL by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,778 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of SFL by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. now owns 44,009 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of SFL by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SFL by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,171 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,474 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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