Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a 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) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $30.98 and last traded at $30.29, with a volume of 299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Clarkson Capital cut Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth about $68,680,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth about $13,304,000. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth about $11,057,000. Lonestar Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth about $5,262,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 182.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 180,858 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 116,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company's stock.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

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.