Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.12 and traded as high as $37.69. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $37.1220, with a volume of 359,373 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Ship Lease currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.33.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 0.8%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 6th. The shipping company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The firm had revenue of $190.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.39 million. Global Ship Lease’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 137.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 42,098 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 24,333 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,023 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 23,712 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 7,662 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 6,605.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,481 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $218,000. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.