Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.09 and traded as high as $36.36. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $36.3210, with a volume of 375,791 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GSL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Global Ship Lease from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Global Ship Lease has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.50.

Global Ship Lease Trading Up 2.5%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 53.62%.The company had revenue of $192.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.36 million. Global Ship Lease’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is a positive change from Global Ship Lease’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.44%.

Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Global Ship Lease during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 77.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

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.