Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Stock Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Global Ship Lease shares broke above their 200-day moving average, reaching $44.33 and last trading near $44.04, compared with the moving average of $40.75.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $51 price target; Jefferies and B. Riley recently raised their targets to $50 and $52, respectively.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equivalent to a 5.7% annualized yield. However, the CEO and CFO collectively sold 78,330 shares in late August.

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $40.75 and traded as high as $44.33. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $44.0410, with a volume of 290,691 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.75.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.6250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Ship Lease

In other news, CEO Thomas Lister sold 30,000 shares of Global Ship Lease 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,934 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.84. This trade represents a 65.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,092,783.96. This trade represents a 41.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,000 shares of company stock worth $3,578,817.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,859,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $12,681,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $10,790,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position 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 worth $6,894,000 after purchasing an additional 128,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 116,606 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.