Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $38.69 and last traded at $38.3410, with a volume of 55999 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.04.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is currently 22.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Global Ship Lease by 137.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 42,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 24,333 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 10.1% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 385,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,140,000 after purchasing an additional 35,205 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 60.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 14,347 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 5,402 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Global Ship Lease by 3.2% in the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 19,250 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease during the 2nd quarter worth $288,000. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

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.