Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.3333.

GSL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:GSL opened at $40.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.98. Global Ship Lease has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $42.70. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 21.95%.

Insider Activity at Global Ship Lease

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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 192.2% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 53,602 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 100.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,817 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after acquiring an additional 28,425 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the third quarter valued at $456,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 9.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 168,327 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after acquiring an additional 14,424 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 50,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after buying an additional 14,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

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.