Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease shares reached a new 52-week high of $30.98, reflecting strong trading activity with a last sale price of $30.29.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with Wall Street Zen upgrading it to a "buy" rating and Jefferies setting a price target of $33.00, while Clarkson Capital downgraded it to "hold" with a $28.00 target.
• The company reported impressive quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.67, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a net margin of 53.09%.

Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $30.98 and last traded at $30.29, with a volume of 299 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on GSL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Clarkson Capital lowered shares of Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.63 and a 200 day moving average of $24.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Global Ship Lease's payout ratio is 19.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 111,949 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 6,828 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position 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 valued at $16,136,000 after buying an additional 31,047 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,927 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 459,791 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $12,097,000 after buying an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 51,616 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,358,000 after buying an additional 24,196 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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