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

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.36 and last traded at $37.0330, with a volume of 859 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GSL. Zacks Research lowered Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.50.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.48 and a 200 day moving average of $32.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $192.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.36 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 53.62%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is an increase from Global Ship Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is 22.44%.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 137.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 42,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 24,333 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $173,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 385,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,140,000 after acquiring an additional 35,205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

About Global Ship Lease

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.