Bank of America Corp DE Has $2.79 Million Stock Holdings in Global Ship Lease, Inc. $GSL

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Global Ship Lease stake by 174.5% in the first quarter, holding 74,854 shares worth approximately $2.79 million. Institutional investors collectively own 50.08% of the company.
• Global Ship Lease insiders sold 80,000 shares worth roughly $3.58 million over the past 90 days, including significant ownership reductions by the CEO and CFO.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $51. The company also reported quarterly EPS and revenue above expectations and announced a $0.625 quarterly dividend, implying a 5.6% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Free Report) by 174.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,854 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,589 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.21% of Global Ship Lease worth $2,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Ship Lease news, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Arthur Lister sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $1,327,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,934 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.84. This trade represents a 65.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,000 shares of company stock worth $3,578,817.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GSL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Global Ship Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Ship Lease currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSL opened at $44.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 2.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.68 and a 200-day moving average of $39.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.90. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.28 and a fifty-two week high of $45.45.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

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

Global Ship Lease 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.

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