Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 49.10%.The firm had revenue of $198.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

Shares of GSL stock traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $42.22. 290,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,812. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Global Ship Lease has a 52 week low of $27.28 and a 52 week high of $44.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.90.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 407.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 137,113 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Global Ship Lease by 111.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,800,000 after acquiring an additional 116,837 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,420,000 after acquiring an additional 107,651 shares during the period. Lonestar Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 44.0% in the third quarter. Lonestar Capital Management LLC now owns 288,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,842,000 after acquiring an additional 88,000 shares during the period. Finally, Marex Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 505.6% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 105,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 87,777 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on GSL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Fearnley Fonds raised Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

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.