UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight Rating, Raises PT on Ship Finance International Limited Following 1Q14 Earnings Review

In a report published Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Fotis Giannakoulis reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on Ship Finance International Limited SFL, and raised the price target from $18.00 to $19.00. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “1Q14 marginally better than expected. SFL reported operating EPS of $0.33 vs our $0.29 estimate and $0.32 of consensus. Group fix revenue, including vessels under capital leases, came in at $148m, 5% above our estimates with the tanker segment outperforming our forecast. Group EBITDA came in at $114m, 7% above our estimate, while an additional $12m was earned from the cash sweep of the FRO tankers. SFL raised its quarterly dividend by $0.01/sh to $0.41/sh, offering an 8.8% yield.” Ship Finance International Limited closed on Tuesday at $18.67.