Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Trading Down 3.3% – Here’s What Happened

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) was down 3.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $25.08 and last traded at $25.12. Approximately 99,169 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 590,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Global Ship Lease from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $883.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.21.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $175.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.07 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 28.92% and a net margin of 46.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Global Ship Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,261,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,000. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth approximately $1,227,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the first quarter worth $559,000. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its position in Global Ship Lease by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 78,240 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 14,725 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Company Profile

Global Ship Lease, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in owning and chartering of containerships under fixed-rate charters to container shipping companies worldwide. As of March 11, 2024, it owned 68 mid-sized and smaller containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), with an aggregate capacity of 375,406 TEU.