SFL (NYSE:SFL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of SFL from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SFL from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

SFL Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE SFL opened at $11.90 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 49.60 and a beta of 0.44. SFL has a 52 week low of $6.73 and a 52 week high of $12.94.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in SFL during the 4th quarter worth about $2,596,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of SFL in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,280,000. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in shares of SFL during the third quarter worth about $2,064,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of SFL by 2.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,805,291 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $95,007,000 after buying an additional 244,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of SFL by 7.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,380,000 after buying an additional 188,441 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.