Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease shares hit a new 52-week high of $31.97 following the announcement of a dividend increase to $0.5469 per share, representing a yield of 6.8%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold" and a price target averaging $30.50.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.67 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and indicated a strong net margin of 53.09%.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $31.97 and last traded at $31.95, with a volume of 291152 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.29.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.5469 per share. This is a positive change from Global Ship Lease's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on GSL. Clarkson Capital lowered shares of Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $29.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 0.6% in the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,238,868 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $85,215,000 after purchasing an additional 18,783 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease during the 2nd quarter worth about $68,680,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,305,109 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $34,314,000 after buying an additional 89,258 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 613,287 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $16,136,000 after buying an additional 31,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 536,747 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $14,122,000 after buying an additional 9,978 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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