StockNews.com Upgrades Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Global Ship Lease Stock Up 0.4 %

Global Ship Lease stock opened at $22.86 on Wednesday. Global Ship Lease has a twelve month low of $16.80 and a twelve month high of $23.06. The stock has a market cap of $804.44 million, a P/E ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $178.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.54 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 29.87% and a net margin of 45.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 235.9% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,564,165 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,558 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,588,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 306,024 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,612,000 after buying an additional 50,680 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 129,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 106,676 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 34,313 shares in the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in owning and chartering of containerships under fixed-rate charters to container shipping companies worldwide. As of March 11, 2024, it owned 68 mid-sized and smaller containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), with an aggregate capacity of 375,406 TEU.