Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $198.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.85 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 50.01%.Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share.

Global Ship Lease Trading Down 1.8%

GSL stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.67. The stock had a trading volume of 410,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,167. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Global Ship Lease has a 12-month low of $27.28 and a 12-month high of $44.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.03.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 acquired a new stake in Global Ship Lease in the 3rd quarter worth about $191,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Global Ship Lease by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.