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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded SFL (NYSE: SFL) from a "sell" to a "hold", and the stock sits at a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $12.00.
• In the most recent quarter SFL reported a ($0.04) EPS and revenue of $175.51M (above the $168.36M estimate), but revenue was down 23.1% year‑over‑year and the company had a negative net margin and ROE.
• SFL shares opened at $11.59—near the 52‑week high of $11.60—while the company shows high leverage (debt‑to‑equity 2.04), low liquidity ratios (current ratio 0.36) and about 28.6% institutional ownership.

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

SFL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

SFL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SFL opened at $11.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. SFL has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $11.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.79 and a 200-day moving average of $9.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -57.93 and a beta of 0.43.

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. SFL had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 0.30%. The business had revenue of $175.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. SFL's quarterly revenue was down 23.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in SFL by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,847,616 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $28,973,000 after purchasing an additional 550,011 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $21,870,000 after acquiring an additional 97,689 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $9,839,000 after acquiring an additional 174,072 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 660,013 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,155,000 after acquiring an additional 86,339 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 519,570 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,058,000 after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.59% of the company's stock.

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.

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