Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $41.28 and traded as high as $45.15. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $43.0230, with a volume of 614,488 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GSL. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Ship Lease has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.98.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.06. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 49.10%. The business had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.85 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.6250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Global Ship Lease news, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of Global Ship Lease stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,092,783.96. The trade was a 41.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.08, for a total transaction of $346,755.36. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 91,692 shares of company stock valued at $4,104,852 in the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth $80,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth $103,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth $203,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc (NYSE:GSL) is a containership owner and charterer that provides maritime transportation capacity to liner companies. The company owns and manages a fleet of container vessels designed to transport manufactured goods, consumer products, industrial materials and other containerized cargo across international trade routes.

Global Ship Lease generally employs time-charter arrangements, under which its vessels are leased to container shipping companies for specified periods.