SFL (NYSE:SFL) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

SFL (NYSE:SFL) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

SFL has been the topic of several other reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

SFL Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SFL opened at $10.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. SFL has a 12-month low of $6.73 and a 12-month high of $12.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.69 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SFL

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of SFL by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 685,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,400,000 after purchasing an additional 25,820 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 68,731 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of SFL during the 1st quarter valued at about $310,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 437,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,721,000 after buying an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of SFL by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,709 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.