Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Buy” with an average price target of $46.50.
• GSL shares opened at $43.52, near their 52-week high of $43.89, and have risen above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Global Ship Lease beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.56 in EPS and $198.08 million in revenue; revenue increased 3.7% year over year, while institutional investors own 50.08% of the stock.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

GSL has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $46.50.

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:GSL opened at $43.52 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.71. Global Ship Lease has a 1 year low of $27.28 and a 1 year high of $43.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $198.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 50.01%.Global Ship Lease's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,269 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. BankChampaign National Association purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the first quarter valued at about $829,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Global Ship Lease by 174.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,854 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,787,000 after buying an additional 47,589 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Global Ship Lease by 11.4% during the first quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 19,905 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 49.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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