Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.59 and last traded at $40.2460, with a volume of 1955 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.12 and a 200 day moving average of $33.21. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.93.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.44%.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Global Ship Lease by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 23,127 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 113,972 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,999,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 77.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 4.5% during the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,023 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.