Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Fearnley Fonds

Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on GSL. Zacks Research lowered shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. 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 issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of GSL stock opened at $40.44 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.71 and its 200 day moving average is $35.89. Global Ship Lease has a 1-year low of $21.26 and a 1-year high of $41.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its 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. 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 net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Global Ship Lease will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Ship Lease news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total transaction of $296,218.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 407.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,984,000 after acquiring an additional 137,113 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Global Ship Lease by 111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 116,837 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,420,000 after purchasing an additional 107,651 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Palms Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $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.