Global Ship Lease (GSL) Competitors

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) and Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Does the media favor CMRE or GSL?

In the previous week, Costamare had 1 more articles in the media than Global Ship Lease. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Costamare and 3 mentions for Global Ship Lease. Costamare's average media sentiment score of 1.71 beat Global Ship Lease's score of 1.62 indicating that Costamare is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Costamare	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Global Ship Lease	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, CMRE or GSL?

Global Ship Lease has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Costamare. Global Ship Lease is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costamare, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Costamare	$2.08B	0.69	$319.92M	$2.36	5.04
Global Ship Lease	$711.05M	1.53	$353.63M	$10.77	2.85

Which has more volatility and risk, CMRE or GSL?

Costamare has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Ship Lease has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CMRE or GSL?

58.1% of Costamare shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.1% of Global Ship Lease shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is CMRE or GSL more profitable?

Global Ship Lease has a net margin of 53.09% compared to Costamare's net margin of 17.10%. Global Ship Lease's return on equity of 24.81% beat Costamare's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Costamare	17.10%	13.67%	6.95%
Global Ship Lease	53.09%	24.81%	15.30%

Do analysts rate CMRE or GSL?

Costamare currently has a consensus price target of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.36%. Global Ship Lease has a consensus price target of $30.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.53%. Given Costamare's higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Costamare is more favorable than Global Ship Lease.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Costamare	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Global Ship Lease	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is CMRE or GSL a better dividend stock?

Costamare pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Global Ship Lease pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Costamare pays out 19.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Ship Lease pays out 19.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Global Ship Lease has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Global Ship Lease is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Global Ship Lease beats Costamare on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.