Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Director Ulrike Helfer Sells 4,000 Shares of Company Stock

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Director Ulrike Helfer sold 4,000 shares of Global Ship Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.82, for a total value of $179,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,503 shares in the company, valued at $381,104.46. This represents a 31.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

NYSE GSL traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $45.78. 329,876 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 338,557. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.86. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.28 and a fifty-two week high of $46.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 2.06.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.06. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 49.10%.The business had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.6250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,859,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 1st quarter worth $12,681,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth $10,790,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 225.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,168 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 65.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,674 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,971,000 after purchasing an additional 116,606 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc (NYSE:GSL) is a containership owner and charterer that provides maritime transportation capacity to liner companies. The company owns and manages a fleet of container vessels designed to transport manufactured goods, consumer products, industrial materials and other containerized cargo across international trade routes.

Global Ship Lease generally employs time-charter arrangements, under which its vessels are leased to container shipping companies for specified periods.