SFL (NYSE:SFL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of SFL in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on SFL from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SFL presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

SFL Price Performance

SFL stock opened at $9.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.11. SFL has a 52-week low of $6.73 and a 52-week high of $11.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -900.40 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $178.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.45 million. SFL had a negative net margin of 0.20% and a positive return on equity of 3.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share.

SFL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of SFL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in SFL by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,847,616 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,973,000 after purchasing an additional 550,011 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in SFL by 3.5% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,904,433 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,870,000 after buying an additional 97,689 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SFL by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 519,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,058,000 after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A bought a new position in shares of SFL during the third quarter worth about $2,064,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in SFL by 89.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 233,577 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 110,042 shares during the last quarter. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.