SFL (NYSE:SFL) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

SFL (NYSE:SFL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $14.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.81% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded SFL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SFL in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SFL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

SFL Price Performance

SFL stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.98. 941,385 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,479,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.19. SFL has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $12.94. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.69 and a beta of 0.43.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. SFL had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 0.26%. The company had revenue of $200.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.65 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of SFL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Burney Co. acquired a new position in SFL in the first quarter valued at approximately $879,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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 worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 133,011 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 54,962 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of SFL by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,805,291 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $95,007,000 after purchasing an additional 244,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in SFL during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $879,000. 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.