Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $37.79 and traded as high as $39.10. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $38.6450, with a volume of 283,824 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GSL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. B. Riley Financial lifted 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, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Ship Lease presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.13 and its 200 day moving average is $37.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.16. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 50.01% and a return on equity of 21.11%. The company had revenue of $198.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is 23.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Ship Lease

In related 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 value of $296,218.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSL. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Global Ship Lease by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 23,127 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 1.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,269 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 77.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 83,650 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,568,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently 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.