Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.44 and last traded at $41.5540, with a volume of 82371 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GSL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.33.

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 4.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.71 and a 200 day moving average of $36.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.01. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 54.33%.The company had revenue of $190.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.39 million. Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is currently 21.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total transaction of $296,218.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 407.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,984,000 after acquiring an additional 137,113 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 225.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,168 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,894,000 after acquiring an additional 128,351 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,800,000 after acquiring an additional 116,837 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,420,000 after acquiring an additional 107,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Palms Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,665,000. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease (NYSE: GSL) is a Bermuda-based containership charter owner focused on acquiring, owning and leasing modern, fuel-efficient vessels to major liner operators. Founded in 2011 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange the same year, the company’s fleet primarily comprises post-Panamax containerships designed to serve the high-volume Asia–Europe and transpacific shipping lanes. By specializing in long-term charter agreements, Global Ship Lease aims to maintain stable revenue streams and minimize spot-market volatility.

The company’s business model centers on negotiating multi-year time charters with leading global shipping lines.