Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Insider Georgios Giannopoulos Sells 7,692 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares on April 7 at an average price of $38.51, totaling about $296,218.92, per the SEC filing.
• Recent quarter: Global Ship Lease reported EPS $2.32 (beat by $0.01) and revenue of $190.95M, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 (annualized $2.50) implying a 6.5% yield with a 21.95% payout ratio.
• Stock and sentiment: Shares fell ~1.7% to $38.26, the company has a market cap of $1.37B and a P/E of 3.36, analysts are mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and a $38.33 target, and institutional investors own about 50% of the stock.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total transaction of $296,218.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Global Ship Lease Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Global Ship Lease stock traded down $0.65 on Thursday, hitting $38.26. The company had a trading volume of 266,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,331. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.96. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.67 and a twelve month high of $41.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.33 and a 200-day moving average of $35.00.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.39 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio is 21.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GSL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.33.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 192.2% in the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 53,602 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. Lonestar Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the second quarter valued at about $5,262,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 100.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,817 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 28,425 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the third quarter valued at about $456,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 9.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 168,327 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,168,000 after purchasing an additional 14,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company's stock.

About Global Ship Lease

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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