Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The shipping company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.16, Briefing.com reports. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Global Ship Lease Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of GSL stock traded down $2.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.90. 120,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 345,882. Global Ship Lease has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $42.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.13.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GSL. Zacks Research raised Global Ship Lease from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. 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 reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Georgios Giannopoulos sold 7,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.51, for a total transaction of $296,218.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Global Ship Lease by 407.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 170,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,984,000 after buying an additional 137,113 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 111.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 221,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,800,000 after acquiring an additional 116,837 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 23.4% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 567,442 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,420,000 after acquiring an additional 107,651 shares during the period. Lonestar Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 44.0% in the third quarter. Lonestar Capital Management LLC now owns 288,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,842,000 after acquiring an additional 88,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marex Group plc raised its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 505.6% in the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 105,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 87,777 shares in the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.