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

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The shipping company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 53.62% and a return on equity of 23.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE:GSL traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.83. 290,373 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,404. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.10 and its 200-day moving average is $33.74. Global Ship Lease has a 12-month low of $17.73 and a 12-month high of $41.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is currently 22.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 9,233 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 5.2% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.