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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive: Global Ship Lease has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from five analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $46.50.
• Recent earnings beat expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.56, above the consensus estimate of $2.40, and revenue of $198.08 million, also ahead of forecasts.
• Shareholders are being paid a sizable dividend: Global Ship Lease declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 6.3%.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GSL shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Fearnley Fonds raised Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

NYSE:GSL opened at $39.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.04. Global Ship Lease has a 1-year low of $26.80 and a 1-year high of $42.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $198.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 2.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 626,787 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $19,242,000 after purchasing an additional 16,188 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 5.3% in 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 boosted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 23.4% in 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 increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 446,060 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $15,629,000 after buying an additional 13,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,681,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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