Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.88 and last traded at $34.49, with a volume of 63061 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GSL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $33.50.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.40. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The shipping company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 53.09% and a return on equity of 24.81%. The business had revenue of $192.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.36 million. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This is an increase from Global Ship Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 9.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,012 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 61.2% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,156 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 8,033 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 41.9% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,430 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the first quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Nicholas Wealth LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 17.2% in the first quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. now owns 37,661 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 5,515 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

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.