Crescent Grove Advisors LLC Sells 110,987 Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. $GSL

Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) by 74.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 38,484 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 110,987 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Global Ship Lease were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the third quarter worth $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

GSL stock opened at $40.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.90. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.28 and a 1-year high of $42.70.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.16. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 50.01%.The company had revenue of $198.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.87 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is currently 23.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GSL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Global Ship Lease Profile

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.