Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,495 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 71,722 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Global Ship Lease worth $1,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,139,470 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $68,535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,941 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 629,750 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,747,000 after purchasing an additional 162,900 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 503,745 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,997,000 after purchasing an additional 27,789 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 183,684 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,010,000 after purchasing an additional 58,470 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 112,832 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Global Ship Lease from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Clarkson Capital cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSL traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.45. The company had a trading volume of 415,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,290. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.18. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.73 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $866.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 19th. The shipping company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $190.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.73 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 46.38% and a return on equity of 27.88%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is an increase from Global Ship Lease's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.59%. Global Ship Lease's payout ratio is 19.83%.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in owning and chartering of containerships under fixed-rate charters to container shipping companies worldwide. As of March 11, 2024, it owned 68 mid-sized and smaller containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), with an aggregate capacity of 375,406 TEU.