Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Technical breakout: GSL climbed above its 200-day moving average ($35.26) and traded as high as $39.40, last at $39.16 (volume 283,433), with the 50-day at $38.54 — a bullish short-term signal.
• Analyst views mixed: Three analysts rate the stock Buy, one Hold and one Sell, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" with a $38.33 target, while B. Riley raised its target to $48.
• Solid fundamentals and yield: The company beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.32 vs. $2.31), has a low P/E of 3.44, and pays a 6.4% annual dividend ($2.50) with a ~22% payout ratio.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $35.26 and traded as high as $39.40. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $39.1550, with a volume of 283,433 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.26.

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

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.95%.

Insider Activity at Global Ship Lease

In other news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of Global Ship Lease stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total value of $296,218.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 137.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 42,098 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 24,333 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,715 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 88.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 51,616 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 24,196 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 459,791 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $12,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Global Ship Lease by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,927 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company's stock.

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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