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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Five research firms give Global Ship Lease an average “Buy” recommendation, with three buys, one strong buy and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $46.50.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.56 versus the $2.40 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $198.08 million.
• Investors receive a sizable dividend: Global Ship Lease pays a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equivalent to $2.50 annually and a yield of approximately 5.6%; institutional investors own about 50.08% of the stock.

Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.50.

GSL has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, July 17th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 626,787 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $19,242,000 after acquiring an additional 16,188 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $16,136,000 after acquiring an additional 31,047 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $17,420,000 after acquiring an additional 107,651 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 446,060 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,629,000 after purchasing an additional 13,141 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the first quarter valued at about $12,681,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

NYSE:GSL opened at $44.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.88. Global Ship Lease has a 12 month low of $27.28 and a 12 month high of $44.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.16. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 50.01%.The business had revenue of $198.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.87 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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