Wall Street Zen Downgrades SFL (NYSE:SFL) to Sell

SFL (NYSE:SFL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

SFL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SFL opened at $10.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.57 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, 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 $10.44.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $175.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.36 million. SFL had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 0.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.15 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SFL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SFL by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,297,605 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,469,000 after acquiring an additional 704,710 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new stake in SFL during the third quarter valued at $2,064,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in SFL by 7.2% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,380,000 after purchasing an additional 188,441 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 174,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of SFL by 89.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 233,577 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 110,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.