Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.15 and last traded at $40.4780, with a volume of 93165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GSL. Zacks Research cut Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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 reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.19.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is presently 22.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,238,868 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,215,000 after acquiring an additional 18,783 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,305,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,314,000 after purchasing an additional 89,258 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 626,787 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,242,000 after purchasing an additional 16,188 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 613,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,136,000 after buying an additional 31,047 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,420,000 after buying an additional 107,651 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.