Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Receives $38.33 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.3333.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GSL shares. Zacks Research lowered Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 137.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 42,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 24,333 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth $445,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,715 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 50,122 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 4,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 60,822 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 19,009 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

GSL stock opened at $38.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.87. Global Ship Lease has a one year low of $17.73 and a one year high of $41.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.95 million during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.95%.

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.