Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.57 and last traded at $46.50, with a volume of 139958 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. Global Ship Lease’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas Lister sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,238.84. This represents a 65.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total value of $2,175,816.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,092,783.96. This represents a 41.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 80,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,817 over the last 90 days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 49.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth approximately $103,000. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc (NYSE: GSL) is a container vessel owner and charterer that provides seaborne transportation capacity to container shipping companies. The company owns and manages a fleet of containerships used to transport manufactured goods, consumer products, raw materials and other cargo in containers.

Global Ship Lease generally charters its vessels to liner companies under fixed-rate time charter agreements. Its customers operate the ships on international trade routes, while Global Ship Lease focuses on vessel ownership, commercial employment, technical management and maintaining the fleet.