Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 25,614 Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Free Report) by 87.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,750 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 25,614 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Global Ship Lease were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,139,470 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $68,535,000 after buying an additional 1,281,941 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 183,684 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,010,000 after purchasing an additional 58,470 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter worth about $1,238,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $633,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 503,745 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,997,000 after purchasing an additional 27,789 shares in the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GSL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Clarkson Capital upgraded Global Ship Lease from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

GSL stock traded up $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $21.64. 41,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,480. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $766.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.21. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.73 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.67 and a 200-day moving average of $22.25.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $182.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.71 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 46.38% and a return on equity of 27.88%. On average, analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.32%. Global Ship Lease's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.50%.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

Global Ship Lease, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in owning and chartering of containerships under fixed-rate charters to container shipping companies worldwide. As of March 11, 2024, it owned 68 mid-sized and smaller containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), with an aggregate capacity of 375,406 TEU.