Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.73 and traded as high as $37.13. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $35.9610, with a volume of 378,269 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.33.

Global Ship Lease Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day moving average of $34.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.01. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The business had revenue of $190.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.39 million. Global Ship Lease’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 137.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 2nd quarter worth about $445,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,715 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 50,122 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 4,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 60,822 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 19,009 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.