Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Hits New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $29.67 and last traded at $29.46, with a volume of 103420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.59.

The shipping company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.38. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 53.31%. The company had revenue of $190.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 EPS.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Global Ship Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GSL shares. Clarkson Capital lowered Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,220,085 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $73,579,000 after acquiring an additional 80,615 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 2nd quarter worth about $68,680,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 629,750 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,747,000 after acquiring an additional 162,900 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 1st quarter worth about $13,304,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Global Ship Lease by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 536,747 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $14,122,000 after acquiring an additional 9,978 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.80.

About Global Ship Lease

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.