Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares recently crossed above their 200-day moving average of $34.73, trading as high as $37.13 and last at $35.96, while the 50‑day average sits at $38.09.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.32 vs. $2.31), reported a 54.33% net margin and 22.35% ROE, and pays a quarterly dividend that annualizes to $2.50 for a 7.0% yield with a 21.95% payout ratio.
• Analyst views are mixed (consensus Hold, $38.33 target) with B. Riley raising its target to $48 and others downgrading, while institutional ownership is about 50% with recent buys from firms like Goldman and Millennium.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $34.73 and traded as high as $37.13. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $35.9610, with a volume of 378,269 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 1.9%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio is 21.95%.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSL. Lonestar Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter valued at $5,262,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 407.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,984,000 after buying an additional 137,113 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 111.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,800,000 after buying an additional 116,837 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,420,000 after buying an additional 107,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Palms Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $3,665,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

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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