Global Ship Lease, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.63 (NYSE:GSL)

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.625 per share by the shipping company on Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd.

Global Ship Lease has a payout ratio of 27.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Global Ship Lease to earn $10.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.9%.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSL opened at $41.80 on Tuesday. Global Ship Lease has a twelve month low of $22.94 and a twelve month high of $42.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.01. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The business had revenue of $190.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.39 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GSL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.33.

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.