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

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SFL (NYSE:SFL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

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

SFL Price Performance

SFL stock opened at $11.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.36. SFL has a 1 year low of $6.73 and a 1 year high of $11.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -57.93 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.10.

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

SFL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 550,011 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of SFL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $668,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its position in shares of SFL by 257.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 73,689 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 53,052 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of SFL by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 502,960 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 59,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.59% of the company’s stock.

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.