Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $39.03, but opened at $41.65. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $40.5310, with a volume of 55,607 shares.

The shipping company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 49.10%. The firm had revenue of $201.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Global Ship Lease from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Activity

In other Global Ship Lease news, CEO Thomas Lister sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.26, for a total transaction of $1,327,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,238.84. This represents a 65.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anastasios Psaropoulos sold 48,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $2,175,816.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,698 shares in the company, valued at $3,092,783.96. This trade represents a 41.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 91,692 shares of company stock worth $4,104,852 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Global Ship Lease by 168.6% during the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 49.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth approximately $80,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 79.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,939 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

Global Ship Lease Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.03.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease, Inc (NYSE:GSL) is a containership owner and chartering company. It owns and manages a fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships, which are vessels designed to transport containerized cargo such as manufactured goods, consumer products and industrial materials.

The company primarily generates revenue by chartering its vessels to container shipping companies under fixed-rate time charter agreements. Its customers operate liner services that connect major ports and trade routes worldwide, allowing Global Ship Lease to participate in global seaborne commerce while its charterers manage cargo transportation and logistics.

Global Ship Lease was founded in 2007 and completed its initial public offering in 2008.