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

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Fearnley Fonds raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,269 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. BankChampaign National Association acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter valued at about $829,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 174.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,854 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,787,000 after acquiring an additional 47,589 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 11.4% during the first quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 19,905 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 49.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSL opened at $41.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.08 and its 200-day moving average is $38.25. 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 has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year high of $42.70.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $198.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 50.01% and a return on equity of 21.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Global Ship Lease will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 23.74%.

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.