Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) CEO Sells $1,327,800.00 in Stock

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) CEO Thomas Arthur Lister sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total value of $1,327,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,238.84. This represents a 65.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

Shares of Global Ship Lease stock opened at $44.48 on Monday. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.28 and a 12 month high of $45.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $198.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 51.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 200,806 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,476,000 after acquiring an additional 68,535 shares during the period. Royal Palms Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter valued at $3,665,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 1st quarter worth $12,681,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 225.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,674 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,971,000 after purchasing an additional 116,606 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

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.