WINTON GROUP Ltd Purchases New Shares in Global Ship Lease, Inc. $GSL

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd opened a new position in Global Ship Lease, buying 27,079 shares valued at about $949,000 in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with hedge funds and other investors holding 50.08% of the company; several firms, including Two Sigma and Qube Research, also boosted their stakes recently.
• Global Ship Lease reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.56 versus $2.40 expected and revenue of $198.08 million, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.625 for a 6.5% yield.

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,079 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $949,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned about 0.08% of Global Ship Lease as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 626,787 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $19,242,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 613,287 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $16,136,000 after buying an additional 31,047 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,420,000 after buying an additional 107,651 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 432,919 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,289,000 after buying an additional 12,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lonestar Capital Management LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lonestar Capital Management LLC now owns 288,000 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,842,000 after buying an additional 88,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, April 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Ship Lease presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total value of $296,218.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

Shares of GSL opened at $38.52 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.92. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.15 and a 52-week high of $42.70.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $198.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 50.01% and a return on equity of 21.11%. Global Ship Lease's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.74%.

Global Ship Lease Company 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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