Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.85 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 50.01% and a return on equity of 21.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share.

Global Ship Lease Stock Down 1.8%

Global Ship Lease stock opened at $42.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.90. Global Ship Lease has a fifty-two week low of $27.28 and a fifty-two week high of $44.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.03.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 23.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 5.2% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 0.7% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 83,650 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,568,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 2.5% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 26,633 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GSL. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

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.