Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

Global Ship Lease Stock Down 0.2 %

Global Ship Lease stock opened at $21.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $745.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.50. Global Ship Lease has a fifty-two week low of $16.80 and a fifty-two week high of $21.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.48.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $178.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.54 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 29.87% and a net margin of 45.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Global Ship Lease will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whitefort Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Whitefort Capital Management LP now owns 2,058,898 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,943,000 after purchasing an additional 81,610 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,027,684 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,188,000 after buying an additional 115,043 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 7,347.7% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,017,197 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $33,324,000 after buying an additional 1,990,112 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,916,621 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $35,917,000 after buying an additional 36,695 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 235.9% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,564,165 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,002,000 after buying an additional 1,098,558 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in owning and chartering of containerships under fixed-rate charters to container shipping companies worldwide. As of March 11, 2024, it owned 68 mid-sized and smaller containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), with an aggregate capacity of 375,406 TEU.