Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease's shares reached a new 52-week high of $33.08, with the stock closing at $33.02 on significant trading volume.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5469 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.6%, showing strong financial performance.
• Analysts have varying views on the stock, with one upgrade to "buy" from "hold," while another firm set a price objective of $28.00, indicating mixed sentiment in the market.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.08 and last traded at $33.02, with a volume of 253641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GSL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $30.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.52. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 53.09% and a return on equity of 24.81%. The company had revenue of $191.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.98 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 24th will be paid a $0.5469 dividend. This is a positive change from Global Ship Lease's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSL. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,430 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 6,605.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,481 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.08% of the company's stock.

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.