Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 15,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth about $103,000. Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter valued at about $212,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter valued at about $1,857,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,210,000. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

NYSE:GSL opened at $45.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.77. Global Ship Lease has a twelve month low of $27.28 and a twelve month high of $45.45.

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

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

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.