Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.3333.

A number of research firms have recently commented on GSL. Zacks Research downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

NYSE:GSL opened at $37.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.55 and its 200 day moving average is $34.07. Global Ship Lease has a 12 month low of $17.73 and a 12 month high of $41.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 6th. The shipping company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 54.33%.The business had revenue of $190.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.39 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is 21.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth approximately $11,057,000. Lonestar Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,262,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 407.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 137,113 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 111.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 116,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 107,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

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.