Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Buys Shares of 740,941 Global Ship Lease, Inc. $GSL

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 740,941 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,859,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GSL. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 200,806 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,476,000 after purchasing an additional 68,535 shares in the last quarter. Royal Palms Capital LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $3,665,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,681,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 225.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,168 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Global Ship Lease by 65.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,674 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,971,000 after buying an additional 116,606 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSL opened at $43.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.28 and a 12 month high of $44.69.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GSL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Ship Lease presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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.