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

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.50.

GSL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Fearnley Fonds raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th.

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE GSL opened at $40.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.59. Global Ship Lease has a fifty-two week low of $25.44 and a fifty-two week high of $42.70. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.92.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.16. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 50.01%.The company had revenue of $198.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.87 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 23.74%.

Insider Transactions at Global Ship Lease

In related news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total value of $296,218.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Global Ship Lease by 77.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 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.