Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $24.42, but opened at $23.70. Global Ship Lease shares last traded at $24.00, with a volume of 60,137 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSL has been the subject of several research reports. Clarkson Capital cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Global Ship Lease from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Global Ship Lease Stock 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.94. The stock has a market cap of $878.01 million, a P/E ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.62.

Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The shipping company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $174.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.83 million. Global Ship Lease had a net margin of 46.38% and a return on equity of 28.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.85 EPS for the current year.

Global Ship Lease Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.56%. Global Ship Lease's payout ratio is 16.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 3,779.3% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,508,898 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $43,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,002 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 62.0% in the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,533,701 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $51,434,000 after purchasing an additional 969,536 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 275.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,068,524 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $30,763,000 after purchasing an additional 783,963 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 147.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 506,085 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,487,000 after purchasing an additional 301,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Global Ship Lease by 97.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 557,050 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $16,037,000 after purchasing an additional 275,500 shares during the last quarter. 50.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.