Comparing Ship Finance International (SFL) & Seanergy Maritime (SHIP)

Ship Finance International (NYSE:SFL) and Seanergy Maritime (NASDAQ:SHIP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, earnings and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

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Ship Finance International has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seanergy Maritime has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ship Finance International and Seanergy Maritime’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ship Finance International	22.77%	9.68%	3.62%
Seanergy Maritime	-20.25%	-34.05%	-4.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

29.0% of Ship Finance International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Seanergy Maritime shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Ship Finance International pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.4%. Seanergy Maritime does not pay a dividend. Ship Finance International pays out 135.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ship Finance International has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ship Finance International and Seanergy Maritime’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ship Finance International	$380.88 million	3.96	$101.20 million	$1.03	11.94
Seanergy Maritime	$74.83 million	0.25	-$3.23 million	($0.30)	-1.61

Ship Finance International has higher revenue and earnings than Seanergy Maritime. Seanergy Maritime is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ship Finance International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Ship Finance International and Seanergy Maritime, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ship Finance International	0	2	4	0	2.67
Seanergy Maritime	0	0	1	0	3.00

Ship Finance International presently has a consensus target price of $13.63, indicating a potential upside of 10.84%. Seanergy Maritime has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 417.28%. Given Seanergy Maritime’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Seanergy Maritime is more favorable than Ship Finance International.

Summary

Ship Finance International beats Seanergy Maritime on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

Ship Finance International Company Profile

Ship Finance International Limited owns and operates vessels and offshore related assets primarily in Bermuda, Cyprus, Malta, Liberia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of assets. In addition, the company operates in various sectors of the shipping and offshore industry, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil product transportation, container transportation, car transportation, drilling rigs, and offshore supply vessels. As of August 22, 2018, it had a fleet of approximately 80 vessels, including tankers, bulkers, container vessels, and offshore assets. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Seanergy Maritime Company Profile

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp., an international shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of drybulk commodities worldwide. As of March 9, 2018, it owned a fleet of 11 dry bulk carriers consisting of 9 Capesizes and 2 Supramaxes with a combined cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 1,682,582 deadweight tons and an average fleet age of 8.9 years. The company was formerly known as Seanergy Maritime Corp. and changed its name to Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. in July 2008. Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.