IStar Financial Inc. Stock Downgraded (SFI)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- iStar Financial (NYSE:SFI) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to sell. Among the areas we feel are negative, one of the most important has been poor debt management on most measures.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• This stock has increased by 65.26% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the future course of this stock, we feel that the risks involved in investing in SFI do not compensate for any future upside potential, despite the fact that it has seen nice gains over the past 12 months.
• 45.00% is the gross profit margin for ISTAR FINANCIAL INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 61.10% significantly outperformed against the industry average.
• The revenue fell significantly faster than the industry average of 5.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 26.1%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry and the overall market, ISTAR FINANCIAL INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 4.02 and currently higher than the industry average, implying that there is very poor management of debt levels within the company.

iStar Financial Inc. operates as a finance company focusing on the commercial real estate industry. The company provides custom-tailored financing to high-end private and corporate owners of real estate. iStar Financial has a market cap of $849.7 million and is part of the financial sector and real estate industry. Shares are up 20.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full iStar Financial Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

For more information on iStar Financial Inc. click any of the following:

• iStar Financial Inc. Stock Price

• iStar Financial Inc. Analyst Ratings

• iStar Financial Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• iStar Financial Inc. Earnings

• iStar Financial Inc. Ratio Comparison

• iStar Financial Inc. Growth Rates

• iStar Financial Inc. Balance Sheet

• iStar Financial Inc. Cash Flow

• iStar Financial Inc. Income Statement