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

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) announced 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 return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 53.62%.Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Global Ship Lease Stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.74. Global Ship Lease has a 52 week low of $17.73 and a 52 week high of $41.40.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSL. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $191,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.