Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease reached a new 52-week high of $46.57, while analysts maintained a consensus “Buy” rating and a $51.00 price target.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.48 in EPS and $198.69 million in revenue; analysts expect full-year EPS of $9.62.
• GSL offers a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equivalent to a 5.4% annualized yield, though company insiders sold 80,000 shares worth approximately $3.58 million over the past 90 days.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $46.57 and last traded at $46.50, with a volume of 139958 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.85 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 49.10%.Global Ship Lease's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Global Ship Lease's payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSL. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the second quarter valued at $27,859,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter valued at about $12,681,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the first quarter worth about $10,790,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 225.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,168 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Global Ship Lease by 65.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

Global Ship Lease, Inc NYSE: GSL is a container vessel owner and charterer that provides seaborne transportation capacity to container shipping companies. The company owns and manages a fleet of containerships used to transport manufactured goods, consumer products, raw materials and other cargo in containers.

Global Ship Lease generally charters its vessels to liner companies under fixed-rate time charter agreements. Its customers operate the ships on international trade routes, while Global Ship Lease focuses on vessel ownership, commercial employment, technical management and maintaining the fleet.

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