Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Ship Lease from “hold” to “buy.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Buy,” with an average price target of $51.
• Global Ship Lease beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.75 versus $2.46 expected and revenue of $201.36 million versus $189 million expected; revenue rose 4.5% year over year.
• Company insiders sold 91,692 shares worth about $4.1 million over the past 90 days.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

GSL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Ship Lease has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:GSL opened at $43.01 on Friday. Global Ship Lease has a 52 week low of $32.74 and a 52 week high of $46.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The shipping company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $201.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.00 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 49.38%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Global Ship Lease

In other Global Ship Lease news, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $2,175,816.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ulrike Helfer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.82, for a total value of $179,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at $381,104.46. This represents a 31.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 91,692 shares of company stock worth $4,104,852 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,210,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 200,806 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,476,000 after acquiring an additional 68,535 shares during the last quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 6,577.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC now owns 32,386 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 31,901 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,859,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 1st quarter valued at $12,681,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease is a containership owner that leases vessels to container shipping companies under charter agreements. Its fleet includes ships of various sizes, serving the needs of operators on international trade routes. Founded in 2007, the company became publicly listed in 2008 and expanded its business through acquisitions, including its 2018 acquisition of Poseidon Containers. Global Ship Lease's vessels operate worldwide through the shipping companies that charter them.

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