Critical Contrast: SFL (NYSE:SFL) and Intercont (Cayman) (NASDAQ:NCT)

Intercont (Cayman) (NASDAQ:NCT) and SFL (NYSE:SFL) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.6% of SFL shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Intercont (Cayman) shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Intercont (Cayman) and SFL”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intercont (Cayman)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SFL	$904.40 million	1.34	$130.65 million	($0.01)	-830.50

SFL has higher revenue and earnings than Intercont (Cayman).

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Intercont (Cayman) and SFL, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intercont (Cayman)	1	0	0	0	1.00
SFL	1	0	1	0	2.00

SFL has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.45%. Given SFL’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SFL is more favorable than Intercont (Cayman).

Profitability

This table compares Intercont (Cayman) and SFL’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intercont (Cayman)	N/A	N/A	N/A
SFL	-0.20%	3.05%	0.80%

Summary

SFL beats Intercont (Cayman) on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intercont (Cayman)

Intercont (Cayman) Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of global maritime shipping services through its subsidiaries. Its services include time chartering and vessel management. The company was founded on July 4, 2023 and is headquartered in Hong Kong.

About SFL

SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil products transportation, container transportation, car transportation, and drilling rigs. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned seven crude oil carriers, six oil product tankers, 15 dry bulk carriers, 32 container vessels, one jack-up drilling rig, one ultra-deepwater drilling rig, and five car carriers. It primarily operates in Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, Liberia, Namibia, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. The company was formerly known as Ship Finance International Limited and changed its name to SFL Corporation Ltd. in September 2019. SFL Corporation Ltd. was founded in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.