Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GSL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Global Ship Lease from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Global Ship Lease Price Performance

NYSE:GSL opened at $37.80 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.85 and a 200-day moving average of $34.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.88. Global Ship Lease has a 52 week low of $17.73 and a 52 week high of $41.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 6th. The shipping company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.01. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 54.33% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The business had revenue of $190.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.39 million. Global Ship Lease’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Ship Lease will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 192.2% during the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 53,602 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 123,718 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after purchasing an additional 53,101 shares during the last quarter. Lonestar Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth $5,262,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the second quarter worth $445,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 6,605.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,481 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.08% of the company’s stock.

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.