Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease reported quarterly EPS of $2.32, beating the consensus by $0.01, with a 53.62% net margin, 23.98% return on equity and revenue up 4.7% year‑over‑year.
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share (ex‑dividend Feb 24, payable Mar 6), equal to a $2.50 annualized payout and a 6.4% yield with a 22.44% payout ratio.
• Shares fell about 3.5% to $38.83 after the release; the stock trades at a P/E of 3.49 and is roughly 50% owned by institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The shipping company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 53.62% and a return on equity of 23.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE:GSL traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.83. 290,373 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,404. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average is $37.10 and its 200-day moving average is $33.74. Global Ship Lease has a 12-month low of $17.73 and a 12-month high of $41.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Global Ship Lease's payout ratio is currently 22.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 9,233 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 5.2% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GSL. Zacks Research lowered Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.