Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 2.0%

Global Ship Lease stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.45. The company had a trading volume of 415,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,290. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.18. The firm has a market cap of $866.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.10. Global Ship Lease has a 12-month low of $17.73 and a 12-month high of $30.32.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 19th. The shipping company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $190.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.73 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 46.38% and a return on equity of 27.88%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.59%. This is a boost from Global Ship Lease's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 125.1% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 46,158 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 25,651 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 215.6% in the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 29,789 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 20,349 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,196 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 40,504 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 3,676 shares during the period. 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.