Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 116,606 Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. $GSL

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) by 65.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 294,674 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,606 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Global Ship Lease were worth $10,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 2.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 626,787 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,242,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 5.3% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 613,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,136,000 after buying an additional 31,047 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,420,000 after acquiring an additional 107,651 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 446,060 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,629,000 after acquiring an additional 13,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth $12,681,000. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GSL. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

Shares of GSL stock opened at $43.31 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.90. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.28 and a 12 month high of $43.92.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $198.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 50.01% and a return on equity of 21.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.74%.

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.