Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.36 and last traded at $37.0330, with a volume of 859 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GSL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.50.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $192.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.36 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 53.62%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Global Ship Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is presently 22.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 123,718 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,255,000 after buying an additional 53,101 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 192.2% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 53,602 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the period. Lonestar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth about $5,262,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 7.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,305,109 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,314,000 after purchasing an additional 89,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 10.1% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 385,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,140,000 after purchasing an additional 35,205 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Global Ship Lease

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.