Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease reached a new 52-week high of $45.76, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $51.00.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.48 in EPS and $198.69 million in revenue, with year-over-year revenue growth of 3.9% and a 49.1% net margin.
• Investors are receiving a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equivalent to a 5.4% annualized yield; however, the CEO and CFO recently sold shares, totaling about $3.58 million in insider sales over 90 days.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $45.76 and last traded at $45.6980, with a volume of 26879 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Global Ship Lease from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Global Ship Lease from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $41.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.06. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 49.10% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Global Ship Lease

In related news, CEO Thomas Arthur Lister sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $1,327,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.84. This trade represents a 65.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of Global Ship Lease stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $2,175,816.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,092,783.96. The trade was a 41.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,000 shares of company stock worth $3,578,817. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 200,806 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,476,000 after purchasing an additional 68,535 shares in the last quarter. Royal Palms Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,665,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter valued at approximately $12,681,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 225.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,168 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 65.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,674 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,971,000 after buying an additional 116,606 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source