Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL – Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, an increase of 15.4% from the April 30th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 801,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.
Global Ship Lease Trading Up 2.7 %
Shares of GSL stock traded up $0.79 on Friday, reaching $29.91. 1,098,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 801,677. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46. Global Ship Lease has a one year low of $16.80 and a one year high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.18.
Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The shipping company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 46.30% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The company had revenue of $178.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Global Ship Lease Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Global Ship Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.95%.
Institutional Trading of Global Ship Lease
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Global Ship Lease by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,024 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 150.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,314 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Ship Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Ship Lease in the 4th quarter worth $201,000. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
GSL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Global Ship Lease from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Ship Lease from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st.
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.