Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.50.

GSL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Global Ship Lease

In other Global Ship Lease 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSL. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 100.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,817 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 28,425 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the third quarter worth approximately $456,000. Royal Palms Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,665,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth approximately $949,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 50,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 14,214 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of Global Ship Lease stock opened at $40.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.12 and a 200 day moving average of $37.59. Global Ship Lease has a 12 month low of $25.44 and a 12 month high of $42.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Global Ship Lease Company 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.