Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $42.70 and last traded at $42.15, with a volume of 35647 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $42.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GSL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. B. Riley Financial increased 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. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.33.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.82 and a 200-day moving average of $36.28.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Ship Lease news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the firm’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 value of $296,218.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Global Ship Lease by 77.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by 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.