Sei Investments Co. Purchases 68,535 Shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. $GSL

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 200,806 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,535 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Global Ship Lease were worth $7,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GSL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

GSL opened at $44.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.88. Global Ship Lease, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.28 and a 52-week high of $44.69.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.16. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 50.01% and a return on equity of 21.11%. The firm had revenue of $198.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.87 million. Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Global Ship Lease’s payout ratio is 23.74%.

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.