Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $45.76 and last traded at $45.6980, with a volume of 26879 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on GSL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, July 17th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Global Ship Lease Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 2.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.88.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.06. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 49.10% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The firm had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Global Ship Lease

In other news, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $2,175,816.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,698 shares in the company, valued at $3,092,783.96. This trade represents a 41.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Lister sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $1,327,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,238.84. This represents a 65.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,817. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.