Analyzing Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) and SFL (NYSE:SFL)

Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) and SFL (NYSE:SFL) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.6% of SFL shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Euronav has a beta of -0.12, suggesting that its share price is 112% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SFL has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Euronav pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. SFL pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.2%. Euronav pays out 11.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SFL pays out 106.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Euronav and SFL’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Euronav	117.02%	22.29%	10.17%
SFL	14.45%	12.41%	3.41%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Euronav and SFL, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Euronav	0	0	0	0	0.00
SFL	0	0	2	1	3.33

SFL has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 80.49%. Given SFL’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SFL is more favorable than Euronav.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Euronav and SFL”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Euronav	$940.25 million	1.87	$858.03 million	$4.38	2.07
SFL	$894.06 million	1.37	$130.65 million	$1.01	8.78

Euronav has higher revenue and earnings than SFL. Euronav is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SFL, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Euronav

Euronav NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil worldwide. The company offers floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) services. It also owns and operates a fleet of vessels. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. As of March 15, 2024, Euronav NV operates as subsidiary of CMB NV.

About SFL

SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil transportation, dry bulk shipments, chemical transportation, oil products transportation, container transportation, car transportation, and drilling rigs. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned seven crude oil carriers, six oil product tankers, 15 dry bulk carriers, 32 container vessels, one jack-up drilling rig, one ultra-deepwater drilling rig, and five car carriers. It primarily operates in Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, Liberia, Namibia, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. The company was formerly known as Ship Finance International Limited and changed its name to SFL Corporation Ltd. in September 2019. SFL Corporation Ltd. was founded in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.