Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease has a consensus “Buy” rating from five analysts, with three buys, one strong buy and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $51.00, versus a recent price of $45.03.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.48 in EPS and $198.69 million in revenue, while revenue increased 3.9% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $9.62.
• Global Ship Lease declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625, equivalent to $2.50 annually and a 5.6% yield. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company, with several major funds increasing their positions.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GSL shares. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered 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. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSL. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 51.8% during the first 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. Royal Palms Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,665,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 1st quarter worth about $12,681,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 225.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,168 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Global Ship Lease by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,674 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,971,000 after purchasing an additional 116,606 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company's stock.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

Global Ship Lease stock opened at $45.03 on Friday. Global Ship Lease has a fifty-two week low of $27.28 and a fifty-two week high of $45.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 2.13.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $198.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.85 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 49.10% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

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.

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