Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. Global Ship Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

GSL stock traded down $2.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.17. 142,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,916. Global Ship Lease has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $42.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.13.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GSL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Ship Lease news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total value of $296,218.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 2.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 626,787 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,242,000 after purchasing an additional 16,188 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 5.3% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 613,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,136,000 after buying an additional 31,047 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,420,000 after buying an additional 107,651 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 446,060 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,629,000 after buying an additional 13,141 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 331,619 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $11,620,000 after buying an additional 15,176 shares in the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Global Ship Lease

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.