Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Price Target Raised to $50.00

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) had its target price hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Fearnley Fonds raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, July 17th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Global Ship Lease Stock Down 1.2%

Global Ship Lease stock opened at $42.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.11. Global Ship Lease has a 1-year low of $27.28 and a 1-year high of $44.69.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $198.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.85 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 49.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Global Ship Lease will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $12,681,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the 1st quarter valued at $10,790,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 407.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 137,113 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 225.9% during the 1st 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, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 116,837 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.